Behind These Hazel Eyes
by Imaniillusion
Summary: He was her world, until he destroyed it. Three years later, Chad Dylan Cooper appears at her door, back into her life once again. He's willing to help her with one of her most urgent problems. On one condition. Angst, drama, romance.
1. The bet

I sat on the bench as gracefully as I could, just in case someone was watching me. I was outside of the party, gazing at the beautiful fluorescent lights hanging from above. It wasn't like I was needed inside. My friends weren't invited, and my boyfriend was no where in sight. I was completely surrounded by the conceited divas and jerks. I stuck out like a sore thumb. I could hear them laughing about me as I passed. I tried to be social and talk to people. I really did. But the girls would simply flip their hair and walk away. As for the guys, they'd either hit on me as a joke or roll their eyes at me, obviously thinking, _Why does that loser think she can talk to me?_

It was true what people said about Hollywood. It really was like high school. And even though I was as famous as them, I wasn't shallow and self centered. And to them, that meant I was weak. The fact that I was on a comedy show didn't help any. Chad had proven to me in the past twelve months that he was nothing like them. He put on that façade at first, as a natural reflex. All of his friends acted that way, so he felt he should too. Finally, after a year of knowing him, I got to _really _know him. And he wasn't the jerk everyone made him out to be. He was actually caring and nice and a momma's boy. An incredibly rich one, that is. Still, I can't believe he abandoned me.

Just when I was having fun sulking in my extreme boredom and anger at Chad, the devil himself appeared and sat next to me. "Not enjoying the party?" he asked.

"What was your first clue?" I asked sarcastically. He chuckled. "Well, I have something that'll cheer you up." he whispered to me seductively, making me shiver. He loved teasing me like this. His face was now centimeters away from my face. Right when I was about to kiss him, he jumped back and stood up.

"No kissies until I show you." he wagged his finger at me and laughed.

"Kissies? Really, Chad, really?" we laughed together as we made our way back into his huge mansion, where the party was taking place. I got dirty looks as I passed, but that wasn't anything new. They all thought that Chad was crazy for dating _me_. A So Random! girl. A girl who grew up in Wisconsin. A girl who was _nice. _

Finally, we were in his bedroom. This was nothing surprising. I had been in his bedroom millions of times. It was professionally decorated. Everything was white, except for the blue accents thrown around the room. It was clean and smelled like flowers, which always had me doubting whether it was really a seventeen year old boy's bedroom or not.

"We're heeere." he sang.

"I can see that. Now where's my surprise?" I asked, growing impatient.

"Close your eyes." I obeyed, covering my face with my hands. But seconds later, I couldn't help but peek. I saw Chad getting something small out of his drawer, making me think he got a ring for me.

"Open your eyes." he told me.

I shot them wide open, bursting with excitement. But instead of a beautiful ring [preferably a silver one with a pink stone in the shape of a heart], he was dangling a condom in front of my face.

"Why are you showing me a condom?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why do you think?"

"Chad, you know I'm saving myself until marriage."

Chad didn't like this. He threw the package down and paced the room in fury. "God, Sonny. You're a seventeen year old girl in _Hollywood_. Stop being such a prude."

"_I'm _a prude?" I scoffed. "Sorry if I'm not a slut like the other girls here!" anger and confusion boiled in me.

His fist made contact with the wall. "You're so annoying!" he yelled.

"Anger issues much?" I whispered, trying to lighten up the situation. It seemed to work, and got a smile out of him. "I'm sorry, Sonny. I just really wanted us to finally fu - make love tonight. I can't stand it anymore. You're just so beautiful. And I love you so much. You love me too, right?" he searched my eyes for an answer. I sighed in frustration. "Chad, you know I love you."

"Then what's the problem with us expressing it? Isn't that what people in love do?"

"Chad…I really don't think it's a good idea. I'm sorry."

He huffed. "Whatever. I'm going downstairs." he said suddenly, as he turned off the light and ran downstairs, leaving me surrounded by darkness and silence. I thought about what he said. I _do _love him, so what's the problem?

It went against everything I've ever stood for. But love is supposed to make you break all the rules, right? Time and time again, my mother has preached to me the saying, "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?"

In other words, why would a guy want to marry me if he could already have sex with me? Why would he want the label and papers and commitment, if he could just stay sleeping with me and possibly living with me, _and _keep his freedom at the same time?

But Chad would want to marry me anyway. I know he would. He loves me and I love him. So I decided to make my way downstairs. I was greeted by more dirty looks and the loud booming of the music that made my ears hurt. But it was okay. I was about to tell Chad I was ready to have sex with him.

I was going to lose my virginity.

I ran into a girl I recognized being from Mackenzie Falls. I decided to go up to her, since she, unfortunately, was the closest person to trustworthy at that party. "Hey, Portlyn, um, do you happen to know where Chad is?" I asked. She looked me up and down, held back an eye roll, then plastered her classic fake smile on her face. "He's in the kitchen. It's that way." she pointed to the right, as if I had never been there before. I wondered if Chad every told anyone how his house has been pretty much my second home for a year.

"Thanks." I ran off in that direction while trying to stay out of everybody's way. Wouldn't wanna give them yet another reason to talk about me.

The first thing I saw when I entered the room was Chad's gorgeous blonde hair. He seemed to be deep in conversation with his other friends, so I waited patiently in front of the door. Their backs were turned to me, so they didn't notice.

"Dude, she's _still _using that excuse?" Chad's best friend, and my ex, James Conroy said.

"Yup." Chad confirmed.

"I'm telling' you, when _we _dated, she let me tap dat on the second date!" James exclaimed. I folded my arms across his chest, wondering who exactly they were talking about.

"This is sweet! So glad we made this bet. Easiest five grand I'll ever make." his other friend, Skyler, said, as he patted Chad's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Chad. Sonny'll give it up eventually. Trust me." James winked at him.

It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to tell what was going on. Chad and his idiot friends had made a bet on him having sex with me. James had _lied _and said we had sex, when I was still a virgin.

"I find it funny," said Skyler, "How innocent she tries to be. When we all know how she _really_ is." James and Skyler laughed. Chad didn't stand up for me. He didn't care about me at all. He didn't stand up for me. He didn't do anything smile as his snobby friends laughed at my expense.

I ran out of the room, still unnoticed by the boys, and headed for the door out. I didn't have my car with me, but I would walk home just to get away from Chad, the snobs, the liars, and the obnoxious music.

I tried to ignore my breaking heart and keep all of my emotions locked inside until I was safe at home, so my tears could explode out of my eyes while I was in the comfort of my own bed. But of course, I just had to smash into someone. Normally, I would've apologized and made a joke out of it. Not this time. I gave a small nod at the boy I unintentionally knocked over and tried to make it for the door again. Unfortunately, he tugged my arm before I could.

"What's wrong?" he asked me as the sobs started escaping out of my tight throat. I was about to snap at the person, telling them to mind their own business, but I quickly realized that I recognized the face.

"Hayden?"

"In the flesh. Now are you gonna tell me who I'm gonna beat up or what?" he said as he wiped the tears off my cheeks with his thumb.

He led me outside to his car, where I told him everything. Chad, the bet, the snobs, everything. He only nodded with each of my words as I poured my emotions out.

When I was done, I let out a laugh. "You're not saying anything."

"Sorry. I just can't believe that Chad would go so low. I mean, I know he's a jerk, but still, that was just horrible. I'm so sorry he did that to you. You deserve better."

I smiled. "Thanks, Hayden. You actually made me feel a lot better."

"No problem. Want me to take your mind off of it a little?"

I nodded. "Sure."

He then told me about why he was at the party. Apparently, a friend of a friend of a friend was there, and he was suckered into being one of the servers at the party. Which, I guess, would explain why he looked all…waiterish. The friend of a friend of a friend had connections to get him into the acting business once and for all, so he couldn't back out. Hayden was like me in many ways. From being new in Hollywood and nice, to our chocolate colored hair. He made me feel great that night; more than Chad ever could.

"So, instead of being all sad, how about you get revenge?" he raised his eyebrows deviously.

"That'd be nice, but how?" I asked.

"Follow me." he said, getting out of his car. And I did. I trusted Hayden.

That night, I humiliated Chad Dylan Cooper.


	2. Masks & Nightmares

**AN: I forgot to mention, this story is based off/inspired by channyfan92's "Indecent Proposal CxS" [its Rated M btw]. Credit to her for the idea. She only wrote four chapters before her computer crashed. So I figured I'd put my own spin on it, so it's really different, but has a similiar plot.**

* * *

_**Three years later**_

"Doctor, are you sure that's our only option?" I asked, my throat tight.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm very sorry. You have two weeks." he looked at me understandingly before walking away, leaving me to squeeze my mothers hand as I cry softly. "Don't worry, Sonny." My mother whispered to me, too weak to speak louder. She was the only person who still called me Sonny. To everyone else, I was known as Allison. But my mom always said that she knew, deep down inside of me, I was still that bright, happy, girl, everyone loved. Not the dark depressed girl who wore nothing but black.

"Everything's gonna be fine."

"How is anything about that _fine_? You're going to die, mom. I'm gonna lose you. That's _not _fine." I squeaked out.

Instead of responding, she closed her eyes peacefully. I sat there, still gripping her cold hand as she slept. I wanted to go out and make the twenty-five thousand dollars for my mother's surgery, magically.

But unfortunately, this was the real world. The real world had no hope and no enchantment. Just tears and heartbreak. After my break up with Chad, my whole world had come crumbling down.

The breakup was messy, to say the least. I had thought I won, after I got my revenge. "That's what you get for being a heart-breaker." I told him, as he stood, jaw-dropped and wide-eyed, that fateful night. The next day, when reporters asked about our breakup, I simply said we didn't work out, while Chad claimed I was just using him for his fame.

Meanwhile, I hung out with Hayden a lot more often than I used to. Rumors flew everywhere that we were dating, and that I had dumped Chad for him. Every magazine compared Hayden to Chad, in Hayden's favor. Hayden had also officially made it into the acting business, making _him _the greatest actor of our generation. Not Chad. Teen girls created teams. Team Chad or Team Hayden. The majority of the girls were on Team Hayden, except for the somewhat loyal fan girls who still hung onto that tiny thread of hope that Chad Dylan Cooper was a good guy.

We ignored each other at Condor Studios. Me, because I was too hurt to talk to him; and him, because he thought he was better than me. Instead of being an even huger jerk torwards everyone like I had expected, he was actually _nice_. For a split second, after seeing his acts of kindness, I expected him to actually be that way to me, too. He was actually nicer torwards everyone else than he was to me when we were dating. But we weren't dating anymore. So he was harsh to me, and friendly to everyone else. The exact opposite of when we were together. Friday, I couldn't take it anymore. I exploded at him, telling him what a jerk he was.

I'll never forget what he said that day:

"You don't mean shit to me anymore, Sonny. You never did."

He walked away after that, leaving me to slide down the wall of the empty cafeteria, hugging my knees.

That following Monday, Marshall came to our prop house, head low, telling us that So Random has been officially cancelled. Chad had gone to Mr. Condor and convinced him that it was a pointless show and no one cool watched it anymore. And for some strange reason, Mr. Condor listened to him.

I lost everything. My friends, my job, and my money source. I spent three months that summer in Hollywood, looking for work. I got none. Chad had black-listed me to all the producers and directors of the town. Even the bad ones. Leaving me no choice but to flee the city I had grown to love so much, and back to Wisconsin. When I first moved, I missed my home day after day. But after I started dating Chad, his lifestyle morphed into mine. Now, I hated Wisconsin. I hated it passionately. It wasn't my home anymore. California was my home. But thanks to this damn economy, all I could get was a job as a waitress, in a restaurant my perverted uncle owned. My mom was the only thing that could get me through it all. Otherwise, I would've committed suicide a long time ago.

And now she's dying.

What will I have left?

Tawni doesn't talk to me anymore. Same goes for the rest of my cast. They've all moved on to bigger and better things, yet they still hate me for getting their show cancelled. Like I had done it on purpose.

Even my old friends here in Wisconsin hate me. They say Hollywood changed me.

They only know the half of it.

If they only knew how often I cry myself to sleep. How often I dream that Chad and I were still together. If only they payed attention to the cuts covering my wrist. If only they noticed my subtle cries for help. If only they saw the word _worthless _which I had carved into the skin above my belly button. If only they knew how lonely I am.

If only they knew me.

Everyday I wear a mask. I hold it to my face to protect me from others, so they can't see in, and hurt me like Chad did. It hides the truth, the lies. The hurt. I do it to not only stop them from seeing my pain and vulnerability, but to make it seem okay. Normal even. It's hard keeping the mask in place, it keeps getting heavier and heavier. My arms are beginning to hurt, it's all just too much. I can't do this much longer, I feel so weak, so powerless. I have to keep it in, I can't let them know how much everything hurts. The pain I face everyday. The feeling of dread every morning when I realize I'm still alive. My mask is slipping. And I can't stop it.

I would like to blame Chad Dylan Cooper for everything. Even the mere name made me shiver. It would make it a lot easier for me to think of him as the devil. But, he was not responsible for my mother, my only friend, being diagnosed with cancer. He was, however, responsible for me not being able to pay for the surgery that could save her life. If she died…I shuddered at the thought. I wouldn't have any reason to live anymore. I might as well commit suicide, like I had wanted to for so long. The only thing that stopped me was my mom. But if she's gone, I might as well join her.

I wish, day after day, that it was just a crush. Or that I just liked him, but not love. But that wasn't true. I was more and more in love with him each and every day. It tortured me to see him on TV with other girls. Beautiful girls.

He used to tell me all the time that I was beautiful. But after everything, I no longer believed it. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw a monster staring back at me. A hideous, gross, un-wanted, fat, monster.

I stopped eating. I broke all of my mirrors. Chad hurt me more than he'll ever know, and there was nothing I, or anyone else, could do about it. I tried to fake a smile for my mom, day after day, hoping she wasn't able to see through it. I was dying, slowly but surely, each day. Not dying in the way my mother was, but dying on the inside. All of my emotions were nonexistent. It was a miracle if I felt anything at all. Now, Neosporin and long-sleeved shirts are my best friends.

I tried to think of any people I knew of who I knew who would give me the money. Tawni, Grady, Nico, and Zora won't even talk to me, and they're the only people I knew who had even more than $25,000 to spare. I had already tried calling them and explaining my situation, but they hung up on me each time. Great friends I had. Really.

I couldn't stand just sitting there while my mother was _dying_. Forget about what would happen to me. I love her so much. Even if _I_ was dead, the world would still need such a good soul like her to be alive. I had to do something. Anything. Anything at all. I'd risk _anything _for her.

"Miss Monroe?" the blonde nurse opened the door and peeked in. Did I mention that I now think blonde is the ugliest hair color? When she saw me looking back at her, she stepped in all the way.

"You need to let your mother rest for a little while, then we're gonna check on some things, alright?"

"So you want me to leave?"

She nodded. "You haven't slept the whole time you've been here. Go home. Do some resting yourself."

I couldn't believe the nerve of her. I can't even sit by my mom's side anymore? I need as much time with her while she's alive as I could possibly get.

But I couldn't do anything. I had no choice but to go home and wait alone while my mother dies.

When I arrived at home, I tried to sleep, but it was impossible. I had too many thoughts that liked to haunt me when I wanted to fall asleep. And whenever I would actually get to sleep, it would only be for no more than an hour or two, thanks to my nightmares. All of my nightmares had one thing in common: Chad Dylan Cooper.

Whether it was the one where I die and no one attends my funeral, or the one where I lose my mom, or the one where I'm being beaten over and over again, Chad is always there; laughing. His blue eyes sparkling in amusement while I scream.

Thankfully, a knock on the halted my harmful thoughts and memories floating through my head.

I took my time to get to the door. Three years ago, I'd bounce up from whatever I was doing, rush to the mirror to make sure I looked presentable, then swing open the door perkily. Now, I dragged myself to the wooden door of my small apartment.

When I opened it, I stood in shock at the male leaning on the frame of my door. I rubbed my hazel eyes; I had to be dreaming. I just had to. Even though I wasn't, the boy - no - the _man's_ ice blue eyes danced, while he had a smirk glued on his face. Just like my nightmares.

"What's up, Sonshine?"


	3. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

**AN: You guys have made me violate one of my rules for writing fanfics. I usually NEVER post a chapter unless I wrote the one after it already. Like for example, I didn't post chapter 2 until I already wrote chapter 3. Just so I could make sure it all works together, and that way, you guys won't be waiting for long.**

**But since PLUS the reviews, I got a few pms demanding for me to put the next chapter up ASAP, I must obey. **

**So basically, I haven't written chapter 4 yet. but it might be here in 3 days at the MOST.**

* * *

"Don't call me that." I whispered sternly, as the happy memories came flooding back. For a moment, I felt as if we were dating again and nothing had changed. I felt like that seventeen year old girl I used to be. So happy. So sure of herself. So in love. But then I snapped back into this harsh reality I call my life.

Chad was even more gorgeous now than he was when he was a teenager. His boyish features had seemingly vanished, and were replaced by handsome ones. His blonde hair was a little bit shaggier in a sexy way, reminding me of Shaggy in Scooby Doo. His pink lips seemed more full, and he grew into his nose more, making him look like a model.

Even through his t-shirt, jeans, and jacket, I could tell he was very, very, extremely, toned. He didn't have any facial hair, thankfully. I had always hated beards and mustaches. Even though I had seen him countless times on TV and magazines, he seemed even more perfect in person. No wonder he had been voted People's 'Hottest Man Alive' two years in a row.

The only thing about him that hadn't changed were his piercing blue eyes, that seemed to tear right through me.

"Why not, _Sonshine_? I always call you that." he said, obviously enjoying my discomfort.

"You mean you always _called _me that." I clarified, trying not to look Chad in the eyes. Otherwise, I would get lost in them, just as I always had before. Which would cause me more pain when I remembered what he'd done to me.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked, trying to make it seem like he was unwanted. But for some odd, sick reason, I needed him to be there; despite all that happened between us.

"Well, I heard about your financial problems," he started, walking into my crummy apartment, even though I didn't say he could.

"Wow. I can see why. You should really fix this place up." he said as he kicked my rotted table. I would've replied, explaining that there's so much I could buy with so little money. But instead, I still stood at my door in shock. Chad Dylan Cooper was back.

"Anyway," he said, turning back to face me, "Tawni explained to me how you need money. So, here I am, helping the needy once again." For some reason, I had forgotten that life went on back in Hollywood without me. Sure, I knew about the new movies and TV shows that my old friends were in, but I had forgotten that they actually communicate with each other. That the actually hang out with each other. Without me. Like I was never there. I forgot there was a time when I could talk to them, too.

"T-Tawni?" I stuttered. I hadn't actually said my ex-best friend's name out loud in at least two years. I tried to block it all out to numb my pain. "Why would she tell you-"

"Because," he interrupted me. "She tells me everything. We used to date, you know. Right after you got kicked out of Hollywood." he laughed, making me cringe. "But now we're just _really _close friends. You know, what you and I used to be?"

The things he said would've normally made me break down crying, but I had already used all of my tears earlier that day at the hospital.

"So here I am. Wow, I knew you needed charity desperately, but not _this_ badly." he referred to my apartment once again. "I'm surprised rats aren't crawling around in this _dump_. What do you need the money for, anyway? Extreme Home Makeover?" His insults torwards my apartment felt like they were directed torwards me personally. I agreed with what he said. My apartment was horrible. But his tone he used when he said the word _dump_, reminded me of the last harsh words he said to me before I was forced to come back to Wisconsin, only slightly deeper. While I started shaking, I realized his words moments earlier.

"Y-You're gonna give me…the money? Chad, you really don't have to, but thank you, I-"

"Whoa, whoa, not so fast." he cut me off again. "I'm not gonna just _give _you the money. You have to _earn _it."

"Earn it." I repeated, confused.

"Yeah. I fired my last maid. She was too old and ugly to look at. So I thought you'd like a new job offer. Last I heard, you were working as a _waitress_." he seemed to think this was funny. "I got you your lingerie, I mean, uniform, and everything."

I shivered at the thought of having to serve the man who hurt me so much. More than anything, I wanted to turn down the offer immediately and just send him home. But I couldn't. I had been praying for a miracle, about to give up hope for my mother. And here it was, in a strange sense. No, I don't consider Chad coming back to me a miracle at all. I'd go as far as to say it was a curse. But the effect it would bring _would _be a miracle.

I took a deep breath. "I need the money in two weeks." I said to him.

"Twenty-five grand, right?" the mention of cash reminded me of the bet so long ago. I nodded.

"So…you're only doing this because you need someone to clean up after you?" I noticed my voice breaking.

"And other things, Sonny. Other things." he winked at me. It was obvious what he was implying, if the lingerie comment didn't already give me a huge hint. If he was going to help me, he was getting his money's worth. I gulped at the thought of having to give up the one thing I still had, away to the man who threw away everything I _used _to have. But this wasn't about me. It was for my mother.

I gulped. As much as I wanted to resist, I needed to do this. It would have been nice to have had a chance to think this all over, but knowing Chad, he only gives out one chance and one chance only. One chance for my mom.

"I go by Allison now."

He sat on the arm rest of my ripped up couch, and put his chin in his hands, obviously pretending to think. "Hmm…I think I like Sonny better." he decided. I chose not to push it.

"When do I start?"

"How 'bout right now?"

* * *

I couldn't stop staring at Sonny Monroe. Her face still looked basically the same as they did three years ago. Her bright red lips popped off of her unusually pale skin. So pale, that I couldn't help but think of Twilight. Ugh. Stupid little sister. I know way too much about those books and movie than any twenty-one year old guy should.

Her eyes, which were once so full of hope and optimism, were now empty and cold. She was dressed in black sweat pants and a tight black sweater. Back in Hollywood, she hated the color black. She said it was too depressing and boring. I guess she changed her mind. She used to be so full, in a good way. Not too fat, but not too skinny. Now, she was sickly thin. So thin, that I could see the outline of her ribs through her shirt. She was now around three inches taller, which met my height perfectly. Her chest was slightly bigger. I wondered if her boobs grew, or she shrunk; making them look bigger. Either way, it was incredibly sexy.

One thing that bothered me though, was her lack of smile. Everyone knew her for her gigantic trademark grin. Now, a permanent scowl replaced it. It looked as if she was crying, without any tears coming out. Still, I couldn't help but admit: she was beautiful. But instead of her being beautiful in her former bright happy way, her beauty was more dark and mysterious and alluring, now.

When Tawni called me, complaining about how annoying Sonny was, begging for money, I couldn't help but not overlook the opportunity at hand. So, I got my personal assistant to track her down for me, and here we are. I could finally get personal revenge on Sonny Monroe for hurting me so many years ago. Sure, I had gotten her show cancelled and made it so she would never work in Hollywood again, but I never got to personally humiliate her like she did to me at my party three years back.

After I came out of my kitchen, I saw Sonny kissing none other than Hayden. The same Hayden that took Sonny's first kiss the year before, who I was incredibly jealous of. All of my friends were there to witness it. "Wow, Chad, you really _can't _keep a girlfriend." Skyler laughed while I stood there shocked. I marched over to my soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend and demanded an explanation. All she did was laugh in my face while sharing an eye roll with Hayden.

"That's what you get for being a heart-breaker." she said, taunting me.

"Get out!" I screamed at her as loudly as I possibly could over the music. Turns out, I didn't need to. As soon as I opened my mouth, the music stopped.

Sonny just giggled and kissed Hayden's cheek. "Whatever." she said, as if breaking my heart was completely nothing to be concerned about. She then started to head torwards the door of my house with Hayden, hand in hand.

I turned around to face the giant TV I had hanging on the wall, showing scenes from the party throughout the night. Now, it chose to show the whole exchange with Sonny, Hayden, and me. I could hear muffled giggles erupting from the room. I made sure to shove Hayden before I stormed away, only to lose my balance and slip on a banana peel, of all things. I had never seen a person _actually _slip on one before. I thought it only happened on cartoons. And now, I did. What the hell was a banana doing there anyway? This was a Hollywood party with people 16+, that included drugs, drinking, and sex. What idiot decided to bring fruit?!

The muffled giggles turned into loud, obnoxious laughter. My own friends laughing at me. Nobody came over to me to give me a hand standing up. They all just stood there with their wine and mocked me.

For the next week, my fall was documented in every magazine and gossip website in America. _Still _my 'friends' make fun of me for it.

A lot of people think that I'm very self-absorbed and over-confident, but my feelings can be hurt at the littlest thing. I know Sonny wouldn't have gotten nearly as upset as I was with the issue of being laughed at. My friends had been laughing at her for months; most of the time in her face. But she never cared. Because she had confidence. And as much as I tried to regain my composure and act like it didn't bother me, I couldn't. For once in my life, I was hurt. My friends had hurt me. _Sonny _had hurt me. And I hadn't forgiven her since.

We were in the car now. I kept trying to peek at her out of the corner of my right eye, while watching the road at the same time. I had butterflies in my stomach due to my excitement and nervousness at Sonny being in my hands for a whole two weeks.

Finally, after all these years, I was going to get my revenge.

Yet, I couldn't help but feel a little bit too excited at the thought of Sonny and I being alone together in my mansion for two weeks.

I'm just doing this to crush her like she did me. That was all. No other intentions. Right_?_


	4. Arrival

**AN: I always have a hard time describing clothes. The description of Sonny's uniform is straight from the buycostumes website. It was in the "sexy women's costumes" section haha. **

**Soo for this class I'm in, I'm supposed to be writing a story. Easy, right? Wrong. It's due tomorrow and I've been too focused on fanfic writing. Oops. At least I have my priorities in order. **

* * *

"Thanks, Chad." I said quietly as he pulled out of the parking lot. I had asked him to stop at the hospital so that I could promise my mom, and the doctor, that I would have the money for my mother's surgery soon. When I asked the doctor if he was sure that two weeks would be enough, he assured me that it would be perfect. My mother was still sleeping, so I asked the blonde nurse to tell her that everything _will _work out. Chad, however, assumed that I owed money to an ex-boyfriend who was a doctor, and that was why I needed to stop there. Even when I denied and told him to butt out, he just smirked and laughed as if it was a joke.

I looked out the window of his shiny, silver convertible. I knew where he was taking me: California. The place that I had tried to block out of my memory. I couldn't help but wonder what he was going to have me do. Was he going to treat me like his maid, or his whore? Why me? He already ruined my life, why go and try to ruin my already shattered dignity? He could have easily gotten a stunning, gorgeous girl to do whatever he is going to force me to do. Why not her?

Either way, I was somewhat glad. No matter what I go through here, at least when it's all over, I'll get to see my mother alive and well.

Minutes later, we finally arrived at a big, grassy field. Empty, except for a gigantic jet black jet right in the middle of it. It was scary, really. Chad's infamous initials were printed in big, bold, blue letters on one side. And on the other, had a gigantic picture of his winking face.

"I should've known." I muttered to myself as soon as I got out of the car.

"What was that, _Sonshine_?" he slammed his car door shut, causing a _boom_.

It was obvious, his enjoyment at seeing me jump. I honestly hadn't thought he would hear me. "I-I just didn't know why I didn't expect you to have your own jet, as conceited as you are." I half-smiled, sort of pleased that I had been able to insult him. Even though, calling him conceited isn't much of an insult as it is the truth.

He came around to my side of the car, and gripped my wrist tightly. His nails unintentionally going through the fabric of my shirt and into my open cuts, causing me to wince in pain. He looked at me as if he was ready to kill me at any moment. "Let's get one thing straight, alright, bi - Sonshine? You have to do whatever _I _say. I _own _you. I'm your boss. And you better respect me, or the deal's off. Understand, _Sonshine_?" My stomach twisted after the second "Sonshine". Was he really about to call me a bitch? Even after we broke up, he had never called me anything of the sort. Although, I was completely expecting him to.

My physical pain was relieved as he let go of my wrist, just when my semi-confident smile was washed off of my face and replaced with hurt. He then stepped aside, and motioned for me to go inside of his jet. "Ladies first." he smirked, realizing how much he made me shake. He made sure to make it his mission to grip my behind as I climbed up the steps; laughing when I jumped yet again. These two weeks were going to be all too fun.

"So…you um, know how to drive this thing?" I said nervously, trying to rid the awkwardness I felt with small talk.

"Yup. Learned right after you left. It was kind of like a celebration gift to myself." he chuckled.

"Oh." I said, looking down. I didn't realize he hated me _that _much. I thought my heart was already so broken it couldn't hurt anymore, but I was wrong.

"By the way," he said as he started to press the buttons. "Don't speak anymore unless spoken to. Got it?"

That shouldn't have shocked me. I was going to play the part of his maid, but be a slave at the same time. So I nodded. "I'm sorry. Got it."

I tried not to look scared as we were taking off. I thought he would have remembered that I am extremely frightened of flying. Or maybe he did, which was why he picked that instead of driving.

He laughed at my attempt to hide my fear. "Please don't tell me you expect me to tell you everything's gonna be okay and to calm down." he laughed again.

"N-No, I didn't."

"Good. Because I'm not."

"Fine." I said, forgetting that was the trigger word to our old arguments. We weren't really arguing when we would annoy everyone with our fine's and good's. No, we were just flirting. Now, it wasn't flirting at all.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good. Now shut up already, Sonshine."

I nodded, slightly hurt again. I seriously needed to stop that. I was going to get hurt multiple times with Chad. I couldn't let that happen anymore. I just had to throw the last bit of wishful thinking away. Chad hates me. I might as well get used to it.

I then closed my eyes and stroked my wrists as we were taking off, trying to rid my nerves and relax my sensitive area at the same time.

It was all too quiet for the first hour after we were in motion. But then, surprisingly, Chad's mouth opened and released sound.

"So tell me about your life in Wisconsin."

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. He looked over at me quickly with light eyebrows raised, silently saying, _You better talk, Sonshine._

I quickly thought of how to word the description of my life. _Hell, _would be a pretty good one. Or maybe _torture_. But I couldn't tell Chad that. He'd love it all too much. So instead, I said, "Oh, well, um…it's okay, I guess."

"What about where you work? What's that like?" He asked. _Why do you wanna know? _I wanted to ask. But that would be "disrespecting" him or something. And I'm not in the mood to get yelled at.

"It's okay, too. You know. I get by."

"Your uncle owns the place, right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

He chuckled. "Sonny, Sonny, funny little Sonny. I'm Chad Dylan Cooper. I know everything."

I smiled a little bit. "Right."

He decided not to talk anymore until we got to his house. I was a bit scared as I saw the jet getting close and closer to the ground. I repeated the same thing I had when we were taking off, helping me to calm down a bit.

When we got out of the jet, he squeezed my butt again, only rougher this time. He obviously loved how uncomfortable it made me feel. After all, my pain is his pleasure.

I felt the warm air surround me as soon as my feet were firmly on the ground. I wasn't in Wisconsin anymore. That was certain. I was back in Hollywood. More than anything, I wanted to just lie on the grass and remember all of the good times I had in this city with my old friends. But remembering would lead to crying, and crying would lead to a razor making contact with my wrist. And something tells me that wouldn't be a very good thing to do in Chad's presence.

I wanted to say something, but Chad hadn't said anything to me yet. Stupid rules. I can't believe I was actually playing along. He rolled his eyes yet again. "You may speak." he permitted.

I exhaled air as if I was holding my breath. "Thank you. Um, I just thought you should know, I'm a virgin. So don't expect anything…special, or experienced, from me."

This time, he laughed harder than he ever had that day. "Yeah, Sonny, sure you are." he wiped a tear from his eye. "I really _am _though."

"Just like you were when we were dating, right?"

I was, dare I say, flabbergasted at that. "I can't believe you still believe _James _over me!" I yelled at him.

"Hey!" he screamed back at me. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me ever again." his eyes narrowed at me. "And what are you talking about? What does James have to do with anything?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. It's just, nothing. I don't know why I said that."

He didn't bother pressing it, thankfully. "Whatever." was all he said as we walked into his gigantic mansion.

I gasped once we were inside. I couldn't do anything but feel as my body slammed against the door, and my hand was covering my fast-beating heart. I had expected Hollywood's richest, hottest bachelor to get his place re-decorated at least twice a month. Instead, the house was just the same as it was so many years ago. I was getting serious de ja vu.

This was where the stairs led up to the second floor. This was where Chad had taken me at his party three years ago. I was happy and laughing and having the time of my life as I went up these stairs for the last time. Completely unaware of the bomb that was about to hit me. The sun still shined onto the creamy white steps, as if lit up by God himself.

The foyer still resembled a hotel lobby. I peeked into the dining room to see that it still had the whole Aladdin vibe going on, with burgundy, Indian decoration and furniture surrounding the massive room. "Wow." I said to myself.

"Memories, huh?" Chad appeared directly behind me; fortunately, not squeezing my butt this time.

"Yeah." I said back.

We just stood there, staring at the room like neither of us had ever seen it before. I could swear I felt his eyes burn into the back of my head, but I just shrugged it off as wishful thinking. _If _he was even looking at me, which I doubt he was, then it was just because he was excited about getting to torture me for two weeks.

"You should get started." he broke our silence, starting to walk into a different room. I had no choice but to follow him. Unlike the rest of the house, the room we stopped in was one I hadn't recognized before. In it, was a mirrored wall, a stereo, a vanity table with lights on it, a rack of clothing, and a white carpet. Other than that, the gigantic room was pretty much empty, which made it seem even bigger. I swear, you could fit my apartment in there six times, and _still _have more room.

"Try this on." Chad ordered, holding up what must be my uniform. Just from the look of it, I could tell it was going to be way shorter on me than it needed to be, but I couldn't protest. It was a black, fitted bodice dress with circular skirt, white trim, apron and puff sleeves with matching black hair bow headband. It also had clear straps and satin bows, a pair of sheer arm bands, and a coordinating choker. Imagine your classic French maid uniform, only sluttier with a dark, mysterious twist. I held it up to me, unsure what to do with it. Did he want me to change in front of him or something?

Thankfully, he pointed torwards a room divider. I hadn't seen it, because it was white, just like the rest of the room. Once behind it, I started changing as quickly as I could; knowing Chad could see every outline of me. I was about to step out, but then froze when I realized something: my wrists. He would think I was disgusting when he saw them. Or worse, he would look worried, and I'd be under the false impression that he cares about me. I don't need to set myself up for disappointment any longer.

"Um, Chad, I don't think this fits." I lied. "Could I just wear something else? Something that maybe…covers my arms?"

"No." his voice boomed.

"Please?"

"No."

"Well, okay. I'm just gonna put on my regular clothes now…" I tried.

"Sonny, come out now."

"No." I folded my arms across my chest, knowing he could still see my shadow.

"Fine, then I'll just have to come in there." I heard him approaching. Closer. And closer. And closer. And closer. Until finally his hand was on the divider, ready to rip it away.

I could do nothing but put my hands behind my back and look down as Chad scanned my body.

"Wow. You look…amazing." he complimented. At that, I couldn't help but blush.

He looked at me suspiciously. "Why are you holding your hands behind your back?"

"Um, I don't know. They're kinda hurting so I thought that maybe if I put them in this position, they'd hurt less?" I lied unconvincingly. This surprised me. Ever since I came back to Wisconsin, I had become the expert liar.

"_Have you been eating?" someone would ask back home._

"_Of course I have!" Lie._

"_You sure?"_

"_Yeah. I love food." Bigger lie._

_But always, people would believe me. Or at least they'd act like they did. Maybe they just didn't care. _

"Take your hands from behind your back. It takes away from the effect." Chad ordered.

"Please, don't make me." I whispered.

"Do it."

I slowly brought them back to the front of my body, presenting the wounds covering my arms.

The merry color was drained from his face as his icey blue eyes were seemingly unable to tear away from the red streaks on my wrist. Some slightly faded, but most fresh. He said nothing for a few seconds, until he ran his fingers through his gorgeous blonde hair. "What the hell?"


	5. Reflection

**AN: Ohemgee I just had the busiest few days EVER. Kay so I'm in this public speaking class, a writing workshop class, THEN another class after school which is like a combination of both at my church. I had assignments for each of them. And of course, me being me, I put it off until the last minute. Soo I spent Sunday night until 4 in the morning, finishing/starting my story for writing workshop, then writing an informative speech for public speaking. AND memorizing a poem for church. I have to recite it next sunday. blech. **

**So anyway, I honestly don't think this chapter is that good. I wrote it last night. I'm kinda having a hard time transitioning from Mean Chad to Caring Chad. Because he's really both at once so it's hard to balance. sorry. try to enjoy this anyway.**

* * *

Seeing the cuts on Sonny's arms made my stomach jump and churn in ways I wasn't aware was possible. Had she actually done this to herself? She was freaking _Sonny_. People given the nickname Sonny are not allowed to self-harm. It's just against the laws of nature. Then again, I guess she goes by Allison now for a reason. I can totally see an Allison doing this. She was Allison now.

I bet it wasn't anything, though. I bet she was just being overdramatic or something. I looked up into her chocolate colored eyes, deep with worry and hurt, causing me to feel sorry for her. And not in the I'm _better than you. I feel sorry for you not being me _way. But in a genuine, real way.

I took a step closer to her. She looked up at me in fear. Why fear? Did she think I was going to yell at her? Okay, normally I _might _do the that, but only a complete moron who is straight on their way to hell would scream while a girl like Sonny is standing in front of him crying. She shuddered when I took yet another step closer to her, "Chad, please no." she cried, probably thinking I was going to hit her. Instead, I opened my arms and pulled in a very scared Sonny Monroe.

"What are you doing?" she muffled into my shoulder. "I'm hugging you. That's what." I stated matter-of-factly.

She pulled away from me slightly and looked up with those big, glassy brown eyes. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" my hands slid from her waist to her upper arms, looking her straight in her watery eyes. "I thought you hated me. And if you didn't, I thought you really would now. You probably think I'm totally messed up."

My stomach dropped. I didn't mean to make her think I hated her or anything like that. What made her think that?

Well. I guess it could have been the whole me not letting her speak thing…or the insensitive comments torwards her fear of flying. But I didn't mean any harm by that. It was just for fun. Training, if you will. Although, I knew that as soon as I got her home with me, I would want nothing but to spend time with her, as sick as that is. One thing I knew about Sonny from the past years was this: She made me soft. And I hated that.

"I don't hate you. No matter how many times you're going to probably think that in the next two weeks, I don't." I promised. "Even though I should after what you did." I muttered under my breath. She looked confused at that and took a step back. My concerned look fell when my annoyance overpowered my caring. She effing broke my heart with that Hayden guy, and she doesn't even think I should have a legit reason to hate her? Anger boiled in me. That is, until I stupidly looked down to her arms again, which shook me up yet again. I had to remind myself, I'm not here to be her friend. She's not here visiting. She's here as my personal servant. This is for revenge.

I took a deep breath and traced her cuts lightly with my thumb. "Listen. I don't know why you did this or when you did this. But you aren't allowed to do it here, okay?" I said softly. "Y-You care about me?" she asked. _More than anything, _I wanted to say. But I couldn't let her know she still had control of my heart. She would take the opportunity to take my heart in her hands then throw it down and crush it, just like before. And Chad Dylan Cooper does _not _do hurt. So instead of letting my guard down, I made it even higher.

"No. I just don't want you to leave any blood stains." I smiled at her though, so she wouldn't know if I was serious or not. She smiled back. Truthfully, I missed her smile more than anything. I don't know why though. I was Chad Dylan Cooper. I could get any girl I wanted. A girl with a much prettier smile than her's.

I walked away for a moment, only to bring back a robe to her. She rolled her eyes as she read the words, "I Heart CDC" stitched onto it in pink. "Really, Chad, really?" she giggled, reminding me of old times. It triggered more anger within me when I thought about what she did to stop that. I thrust the robe torwards her as roughly as I could. "Put this on." I demanded. Her slight smile dropped, obviously bothered by my sudden change of mood. "I'll be right back." I said, then rushed out of the room as fast as I could, not bothering to hear her response. I relaxed a little bit more once I was outside of the huge room containing Sonny. I was safe. Just as I was heading torwards the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Do I have perfect timing or what?

I took my time approaching my door at first, but then couldn't hold my excitement any longer and raced to it. The doorbell rang once more right as I was pulling the door open. The California sunshine was in my eyes _way _more than it needed to be. I covered my eyes with my hands a bit. "Chad, dahling!" Elyse exclaimed when she was fully in my house. She then dropped her bag and pulled me in for an unexpected hug. "Hey, how are you?" I patted her back awkwardly. She pulled away from me to pinch my cheeks. "Look at you! You've gotten so handsome!" she said to me in her slight British accent.

I removed her hands from my cheeks as kindly as I could. "I'm glad you could make it." I closed the door, causing my house to return back to it's slightly shadowed lighting.

"It was hard, I must admit. My jam jar almost broke down on me while I was just a mile or two from your home!" she exclaimed, confusing me yet again with her strange sayings and expressions.

I grinned at Elyse yet again. I had missed her a lot. She was my hair and makeup stylist for one of my movies, Welcome to Holliewood. As you can tell by its name, it was unfortunately _not _all about me. The main character was about a girl named Hollie. I played the part of the rich, handsome actor she falls in love with. It fits, doesn't it?

Anyway, Elyse was a very talented makeup artist who was in her late thirties. When my assistant located Sonny, I immediately called her to fix her up for me. She was just finished painting Hannah Montana's face, and happily agreed.

"So, where is she?" she asked, her accent still evident. "Follow me." I started walking to the massive room where Sonny was. When I opened the doors to let Elyse in, Sonny was sitting on a chair, fiddling with her sleeve. I coughed to let her know I was back. Her head immediately shot up, then her brown eyes squinted in confusion at the visitor. As for Elyse, she gasped in horror at Sonny. I know she looked scarily unhealthy, but it wasn't _that _bad. "Elyse, this is Sonny." I introduced. "Sonny, this is Elyse. She'll be fixing you up for me today. You know I have to have the best. And you…aren't."

She looked slightly hurt by that, but she ignored the comment anyway. "Hi, Elyse." she stood and put out her hand to try to make contact with Elyse's. She only stared at Sonny's hand in disgust, causing Sonny to immediately pull back. "Hi." Elyse greeted coldly.

Before any awkward silence crept into the room, I excused myself out. I pressed my palms together as if I was praying.

"Well, I'm off. Elyse, you know what to do."

"Where are you going?" Sonny asked while I was half-way out the door.

I turned around. "You need discipline. So I'm going to make a rule list for you. Is that okay with you, Sonshine?"

She fake-smiled at me. "Yeah. That's great."

Little did she know, I was making _two _sets of rule. One for her, _and _for me.

* * *

I had to be honest: I was majorly scared when Chad left me alone with this mean-looking lady I barely knew. "Well, I guess we should get started then." she stated. I continued to stand there, unsure of where she wanted me. I raised my eyebrows and looked at her with my eyebrows raised and eyes wide curiously. Thankfully, she met my questioning gaze. "Go wash the makeup off your face. You look goth. Lipstick too. Then come back here. The loo is to the-"

"I know where it is." I stopped her, surprising myself that I still remembered the location of Chad's bathroom. I exited the room and entered the door to its right. Once inside, my eyes widened in surprise at its beauty. Chad may have left the rest of the house the same, but the bathroom was completely transformed. It still smelled like pine cleaner, yes. But the look was unfamiliar. The floor used to be black and white squares, reminding me of chess. The toilet, tub, and sink were black, with a creepy picture of him plastered on the wall that always made me wonder why exactly he enjoyed looking at a picture of himself while he peed. Or why anyone else would, for that matter.

Now, the room looked much more elegant. The tiles were a tan, woodish color. The windows were white, matching the tub, toilet, and sink. The walls were a beautiful teal color, while the outline of the door was white. On one wall were two golden hooks, holding pure white towels. I couldn't resist but to reach out and touch it, loving its softness. I couldn't wait to take a shower here so I could use them. There was a golden, elegant chandelier hanging on the wall, right above the bath tub. The tub was in the shape of a rectangle, with the wooden tiles surrounding it up and down, so that only a bit of the white on the outside was visible. There were small, teal bath accessories thrown neatly around the room. It took me away for a little bit, to a happier place. This was _definitely _going to be my favorite room of the house.

After I had managed to pull myself away from the beauty of the room and washed my face, I noticed there was a bronze magazine rack sitting beside the bath tub. I approached it, curious to see what Chad Dylan Cooper is subscribed to. While I was going through the stack, a picture on the cover of one caught my eye. It took me a moment to recognize who the girl was. I then realized, it was _me_. Happy me. Sixteen year old me. In fact, this was me at my sixteenth birthday party in Disney Land. I was wearing a gorgeous yellow dress, and my hands were thrown up into the air excitedly.

I stared at my reflection in the elegant mirror. It was shocking how much I had changed over the past three years. Forgetting to breath, I continued to stare. My once perfectly long, chocolate, straight hair was now tousled and dirty, haphazardly cut. It looked like I had gone at it with a chain-saw and then not showered for three days. My eyes, once glowing with life, were now a dull brown, lacking any twinkle or sign of life. My skin had once been healthy and tan. Now it was sickly pale, with not even a dash of pink in my cheeks. My rosy lips were a shocking contrast to my pale skin, and they were chapped and cracking due to my lack of hydration. As I continued to stare at my thin, weak body in the mirror, I asked myself how I had let Sonny turn into Allison. Was it really Chad who made me like this? Before, I was prettier, healthy, and strong. Now I looked like a zombie who couldn't even run a mile. Was this my goal? Was this who I wanted to be? How could I let _anyone _cause me to do this to myself?

"Sonny? Are you okay in there?" I heard Elyse's voice call out to me. I would have opened the door a bit to assure her that I was fine and would be back in a moment, but my reflection had captivated me. I heard Chad's voice talking to Elyse, then rough footsteps coming torwards the door. But I still couldn't force myself to move."Sonny?" The voice echoed through the hallway outside, making its way into my ears. I heard it again, ringing, hypnotizing."Sonny?" There it was again, frantic shouting. I couldn't call out. My lips wouldn't move. My eyes still locked on my own in the mirror, as I held out my arms and rolled up my sleeves, horrified by the scars. How did Chad not find me disgusting? After all, I did.

The door shot open, finally knocking me out of my trance. Chad saw me staring at myself in the mirror and laughed a little. "You're reminding me of Tawni. Only she smiles into the mirror, not frowns."

I shook my head, freeing myself of my pounding thoughts. "Sorry I took so long. I'm fine," I tried to be believable with a smile. "Honest."

However, he didn't look very convinced, but went with it anyway. "Alright. Elyse should want you back by now." I nodded and dragged myself torwards the all white room again.

Elyse didn't seem to notice how out of it I was. If she did, she didn't want to say anything about it. She simply nodded in acknowledgement of me and looked torwards the small stool. "Now let's _really _get started, shall we?"


	6. Makeover

**AN: Please excuse any typos in here. I wrote it as quickly as I could, not wanting to keep you guys waiting. I only read over it two times and corrected a few things, but it still isn't perfect. Sorry =[**

* * *

All I could do was sit on the stool, doing nothing but staring off into space angrily at my predicament instead of annoyance at how my butt kept falling asleep. To think, just five and a half hours ago, I was sitting depressed at my trashy apartment. Chad coming back and have me at his house getting a _makeover _was the last thing on my mind. Even in my wildest dreams - or - _nightmares_, I would have never expected this to happen.

Every once in a while, Elyse would roughly turn my head and order me to face a certain way. I tried my best to concentrate my emotions on happy things, so tears wouldn't fall and Elyse have to take even more time doing my makeup. Not crying was hard, since I would feel constant hair tugging, as if she was trying to rip it right out of my head.

"Pain is beauty." she kept saying every time I would whimper in discomfort. If that were true, I would have been model-worthy a _looong _time ago.

"Wow." I heard Elyse say.

"What?" I asked, my eyes still closed.

"You actually look…good. For you." I didn't know whether to say thank you or not. I wasn't exactly sure why Elyse seemed to hate me, while she treated Chad like he was her son.

I actually didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to give Elyse, or Chad the satisfaction of making me go along with all of this. Yet, curiosity got the best of me. I peeked.

"Whoa!" I jumped back, nearly falling off of the stool and onto the floor. I caught my balance and repositioned myself on the small chair.

I leaned torwards the mirror slowly, my hand touching my face to make sure it was _really _me.

I had artificial color on my face now, thanks to the blush. The bags under my eyes were non-existent now, thanks to the concealer. I never had any problem with bumps, so that wasn't an issue. And my eyes were focused on by eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara. I also had a seemingly natural glow to me. My face looked nice, I must admit. But even when I was younger, I had never been into makeup much.

It was my hair that I _really _loved. My split ends were taken care of, and my bangs were full once again. Instead of my hair being choppy, it was now full of beautiful, brown, shiny curls. Even though I wasn't beautiful, my hair definitely was.

"This is nice, Elyse. Thank you."

"My pleasure, dear. We need to get you out of that robe now, shall we?"

I immediately shot my head up at her. Was she going to like present me with no clothes on to Chad or something? I didn't want to think about that part of my new "job" yet. Maybe, If I was lucky, I could get Chad to completely bypass it. I thought I would at least clean _something _first, before Chad wanted me to do…that.

Then again, I had to remember who this was. Chad Dylan Cooper is a huge asshole, but he wouldn't rape me. If I didn't want to sleep with him, he wouldn't make me.

…but would he not give me the money unless I did?

The noise from Elyse vapidly sliding hangers against the metal clothing rack snapped me out of my wondering thoughts. "I think this would look good on you." she said, holding up a yellow and green t-shirt. Not even a dull yellow and green. A bright one, that made me want to shield my eyes. "Chad tells me that he had an old uniform for you, but it didn't work out. He ordered these clothes for back up, and has now requested that you wear these."

"Um, thanks, but I don't really wear bright colors…have any black?"

She shook her head. "This isn't a problem, is it? I don't need to call Mr. Cooper for you, do I?"

I wasn't sure exactly how much Elyse knew, but she seemed to already have figured out that Chad is in charge of pretty much everything I do. And that he'd get so mad at me if I put up a fight about this. "No. No problem whatsoever."

She smiled. "Good. Try these on." she said, gesturing to the gigantic, super long clothing rack.

Words tried to come out of my mouth, but instead released a hollow coughing sound. "All of them?" I finally managed.

"Mr. Cooper's orders."

"Since when do you call him Mr. Cooper?"

"It's for your benefit. He's your boss, after all."

I sighed, blowing my bangs in the air for a second. "Of course."

Over and hour and twelve outfits later, I was finally onto my last pair of pants and shirt. My eyes lit up when I realized the color.

"I get to wear black?"

Elyse chuckled. "That's the most alive your eyes have been all day."

I smiled back at her, and went behind the room divider once again.

When I came out minutes later, Elyse was putting all of the makeup she used on me back into her bag. "You're leaving?" I asked, surprised that I was a little bit sad.

"Yes, darling, I'm afraid I must."

I looked down to my black sweatpants, then back up at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie." she smiled at me, and then looked as if she wanted to say more. I looked at her, waiting.

"Can I just know one thing?" she brought up her pointer finger, symbolizing the number one.

"Sure."

She was silent for a few more seconds. "Why, exactly, do you need the money so badly? Is it drugs?" her eyes got big at the last sentence. I couldn't help but giggle at her speculations.

"No, actually. It's…a family thing." I shrugged.

She nodded at me in understanding. "You know, when I was young, my family was dirt poor. On top of that, my mother died when I was barely nine years old."

"I'm so sorry."

She nodded once again. "Me, too. But anywho, it was just me, my little brother and sister, and my dad. We were down to our very last penny, and were on the brink of being homeless. My father was disabled and couldn't work. So me, being the oldest in the family, had to quit school and go to work. _Any _work, as long as it made us money. I was fifteen, then."

"That must have been awful for you. Having to give everything up for your family…" just as those words came out of my mouth, I realized I was doing the exact same thing for my mom. Elyse noticed my recognition, and nodded.

"Mr. Cooper, I mean, _Chad_, is a good boy at heart. It will be hard, but you seem like a strong girl. You can pull through."

She slipped on her black trench coat and slid her bag onto her shoulder.

I left my awkward standing position, and walked up to hug her. She was surprised, but then squeezed me back.

"Thank you again, Elyse. For everything."

She nodded. "I must be going, dear. But good luck. Tell Chad I said goodbye for me."

"I will." I promised, when Elyse was half way out the door.

I sat awkwardly on the floor when the door slammed shut, not wanting to sit back on that rock hard stool.

My back was aching from having to sit on the backless chair for hours, _and _having to model outfit after outfit to Elyse. Not being able to take it anymore, I plopped my head down on the soft, white carpet and sighed in satisfaction.

My heart jumped as I heard the door creak open, and the heavy footsteps coming torwards me. I opened my eyes to see Chad standing right above me, staring down, amused. His ice blue eyes sparkled at me, while he was obviously holding back a laugh.

"What exactly are you doing?"

I blew the hair off of my face and sat up. "Relaxing." I responded. I was beginning to sit up, but was way too weak.

"You look tired."

"What was your first clue?"

He laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked wonderingly.

"You just reminded me, it's time for your rules."

I frowned. "Way to ruin my temporary good mood, Chad."

"It's the least I could do." he held out his hand, and I reluctantly accepted it.

"Follow me." he pulled me up.

I groaned, frustrated. "I wanna go to sleep." I whined.

"I know, I know. You've had a long day. Just read this, then you can go." he passed me a paper, with words in his handwriting. I had expected him to have someone write _for _him.

"Must not think nice thoughts about?" I read aloud.

"Wrong paper." he quickly snatched it from me. "That was, um, my shopping list."

I squinted at him for a second, after he placed a different paper in my empty hands. "Right."

**Sonny's Rule List (in no particular order)**

**1: No back-talk.**

**2: Must always address me as either Mr. Cooper, The Great One, or Sir.**

**3: Can wear regular clothes when alone, but must wear **_**NEW **_**uniform when company is over.**

**4: Once done with daily chores, is free to use the house in whatever APPROPRIATE way is chosen.**

**5: I understand it is hard to resist Chad Dylan Cooper, but PLEASE TRY to not fall in love.**

**6: No insulting.**

**7: No disrespect.**

**8: Must make every meal for CDC unless told otherwise. **

**9: While cooking, Sonny Munroe is not allowed to use any knives, unless in my presence. **

**10: No cutting whatsoever.**

**11: Must complete all assignments with no complaints. **

**12: When guests are over, you must address them as Sir or Madam. Even if you know them.**

I read the list again and again and again. Chad looked at me, waiting for an _okay_. I looked up at him. "Alright. First of all, do you realize how often you transition from first, second, and third person? Second, new uniform? When the hell did you get me a new uniform? Third, 'try not to fall in love'? Why on _earth _would I fall in love with you? And fourth, The Great One? Really, Chad, Really?"

I tried to block out the last part of rule number twelve. _Even if you know them_. I might have to actually…_serve _the jerks and bitches who even to this day hate me?

Joy.

"Sleep on it." Chad said, sliding his hands out of his pocket. "You look tired. It's ten o' clock."

I don't know what shocked me more. His kind tone, or the fact that it was so late already.

"Here, follow me. I'll show you your room."

My heart started beating rapidly as we ascended the stairs. It was the first time I had seen the second floor all day. It still looked exactly the same, just like the lower half of the house. "It's like the Twilight Zone." I whispered. Chad laughed, and took my hand. That's when the worst thing ever possible happened.

Sparks.

Chad touched me, and I felt effing _sparks. _This boy who hurt me so much gave me _sparks._ I quickly snatched my hand away from him and continued to follow him into my new bedroom. I noticed myself peeking at every room we passed, just in case. It was going to be so weird, sleeping in a room that I've never slept in before. As strange as it is, I was going to miss my rock hard bed with chipping walls.

He finally opened a door, torwards the end of the hall.

It was beautiful. The walls were white, and the closet was mirrored. The vanity table, dresser, and lamps, were all black; along with the tiles. The bed sat in the middle of a room, with a white rug sticking out of it. Basically, it was all classily decorated in black and white. Mostly black. Just my style.

"I made it black and white on purpose. I figured you still liked bright colors, and the plainness and classiness of the room would piss you off." he scratched the back of his head, fluffing it.

"It's perfect." I said.

He smiled at me. "Glad you like it. Your dresser and closet is stocked with clothes."

I stepped into the room, then turned back around to him. "What would you have done if I got immensely fat?" I joked, while I was secretly creeped out that he knew my size. All of the clothes that Elyse forced me to try on earlier fit perfectly.

He winked at me. "'Night, Sonny. My room is right next to yours. And by the way, you look really good. Honestly, you looked good before."

I smiled back at him. "Goodnight, Oh Great One." I joked.

As soon as he left, I raced over to my new bed, soaking in the softness. Tempurpedic, huh?

Maybe staying here won't be too bad after all.


	7. Good Morning

**AN: Ugh. This is horrible. My worst chapter yet, in my opinion. I felt I was slacking with the whole writing thing lately, and I haven't updated in a few days. Nothing really happens in this, at all. It's just to hold you over for the REAL drama in the next chapter. But really, I'm sorry. This is actually a whole 1,000 words less than what I usually write. Horibbleness.**

* * *

_I looked around at the familiar setting. I was standing under the large oak tree directly in front of Condor Studios. I could hear teenage casts from shows talking loudly, excited that it was finally Friday. Among the chaos, I spotted my younger self, smiling and talking into my cell phone. I watched with that sinking feeling in my gut as my 15-year-old self walked through the crowded cafeteria and to the prop house, which was surprisingly quiet and secluded. An involuntary tug forced me to follow my former self. "You're crazy, but I love you," my 15-year-old self said into the phone with a smile._

_The next thing I knew, I saw my former self in the passenger seat of Chad's old silver convertible. Chad and I were laughing and joking and having the best time ever. The sound as the laughter died and the squeal of the tires followed by the sickening crunch of metal still made my stomach place I was now was brightly lit and smelled like bleach. The fluorescent lights reflected off the white walls in an almost blinding way. I sat there in the waiting room chair, moderately surprised that no one else was there for me. Where were they? Did they not care? I looked up as a doctor approached a young girl who had somehow sneaked in without me noticing. "Zora?" I whispered. She did not hear me. "Your friend had been stabilizing, but her heart rate began to drop rapidly. We did everything we could to revive Sonny, but in her current condition her body was too weak to fight."Zora rolled her eyes. "It doesn't even matter. I only came because my friends made me. They said it would 'look weird' if no one came." she shrugged, as if that was the weirdest idea in the universe. _

_The doctor nodded. "She wasn't a very good addition to So Random, was she?"_

_My heart was screaming without a sound as Zora nodded in agreement. "I don't know what Marshall was thinking." she commented before she left the hospital._

_It was a small funeral, only a dozen family members and close friends from Wisconsin. Chad was at the front of this group, telling jokes and laughing with everyone. My casket sat in front of the tiny crowd, while I stood at the outskirts of everyone, still invisible. I looked around for my mom. Surely she would care. She wouldn't be joking and laughing. She would be crying. Why had I let Chad do this to me? Why had I gotten into his car? Why did I have to die while Chad didn't have a scratch on him?_

_"Mom?" I shouted, wanting to embrace her and tell her that I'm right here and I'll never leave her. "Mom!" I tried again. Then, I decided to open the casket. "Mom." I squeaked out, horrified at the lady inside. She looked as if she had been beaten up and ran over. _

"_How?" I asked myself. _

"_Don't you get it?" I heard an uncaring voice come up behind me, causing me to jump. "Chad?" I turned around. His blue eyes taunted me._

_He laughed. "Get what?" I asked._

_I looked around the room and noticed that everyone else had disappeared. "What?" I asked again, starting to get a little more than frightened. _

_Without warning, I felt a hot sting coming from my left cheek. Chad Dylan Cooper had slapped me. Hard. Tears sprung to my eyes and my mascara started running. "You could feel that?" he asked. "I'm surprised. I thought you were dead."_

_Dead? _

_I looked back into the casket. Now, instead of my mother being in it, it was me._

_I was dead._

**_Beep, beep, beep, beep_**, I groaned as I rolled over to hit the obnoxious alarm clock that dared to interrupt my sleep. It had been the best rest I had gotten in…I couldn't even remember when. Still, I was half asleep. Glancing at the clock again, I sighed to myself. Who sets an alarm clock for a random time such as 5:27A.M.? It was still dark, with just a peek of dark blue light shining from the window. The birds had just begun to start tweeting, but I could hear crickets chirping at the same time.

Trying to ignore the distracting noises, and shake off the temptation of trying to analyze what my newest nightmare meant, I closed my eyes and tried to drift back off to sleep. Right when I was on the edge of consciousness, about to take comfort in dreamland again, the door shot open.

"Why aren't you up?!" a male voice yelled at me.

"Hmm?" I moaned, half asleep yet again.

"You think I _like _taking the time to set your alarm clock, and then having to come wake you up _too? _Who am I, your mom?"

"Five more minutes, Mommy." my hoarse voice pleaded tiredly.

When I didn't hear a response, I took that as a yes, and started to allow myself to fall asleep again.

I felt a rush of cold wind shoot through me. I huddled to keep myself warm, and reached to grab a blanket with a free hand. I grunted in frustration when I patted around for a few seconds and felt nothing. Finally, I decided to open my eyes. Chad Dylan Cooper stood above me, with the blanket balled up in his arms. He rolled his eyes at my confusion.

"Why did you snatch my blanket? I'm tired. Give it back." I demanded.

"No."

"Why not?" I whined.

"You have work to do."

"Chad, come on. It's five-thirty in the morning!"

"I know what time it is, Sonshine."

I smacked my head with my right hand in annoyance. At first, all I could think about was how much I hate Chad Dylan Cooper for depriving me of my sleep. Then, my memory came back to me. I was working. This was my job. My first day. And so far, I wasn't making a good impression. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and yawned. "Sorry."

He dropped my comforter back onto the bed. He still looked mad at me. For a split second, I expected him to slap the crap out of me like he had in my latest oh-so-fun-dream. "Your list of things you have to do for the day is on the dresser," he said roughly, instead of accepting my apology. "I'm leaving, but I expect all of it to be done by the time I get back. These are your normal chores. Tomorrow, I'm not gonna leave you a list. So you better have it memorized. If one day I _do _leave you a list, it won't be your daily chores. It will be extra things I expect to be done. Is that clear, Sonshine?"

"Yes, sir!" I saluted him. My perkiness and willingness to joke was a bit of a shock to me. First of all, I hadn't been silly in at least two years. Second of all, the sun wasn't even up yet. Third, I was ready to collapse. And fourth, it was _Chad_. He was the reason my humor died in the first place.

He laughed. "Now _that's _the attitude I expect from you."

I was displeased that I had pleased him. I definitely needed to step up the disrespect. I couldn't make him think I _enjoy _the idea of working for him or anything.

"See you later, Sonshine." he said while sliding out of the door.

I was eager to see what I had to do for the day, but I had to put my priorities in order. Number One: get rid of this awful morning breath.

Once that was taken care of, I went to my gigantic closet to fish out an outfit for the day, to put on as I read the ridiculously long list.

**1. Wash porch.**

**2. Pick lint off of carpet.**

**3. Count how many socks are in my drawer.**

**4. Polish outdoor wooden furniture. **

**5. Wash dishes by hand. Towel dry.**

**6. Make my bed.**

**7. Clean my room.**

**8. Water flowers.**

**9. Dust. Everything.**

**10. Clean kitchen.**

**11. Clean everything.**

**Extra:**

**Go through the house and make a list of other things you need to clean. I didn't feel like going through EVERYTHING. I mean, I'm Chad Dylan Cooper. I have a life.**

**Enjoy.**

**Hugs, **

_**CDC**_

Hugs? Really, Chad, really?

This list. Is. Ridiculous.

Then again, Chad Dylan Cooper is the definition of ridiculous.

I hate you Chad.

I hate my life.

I hate the world.

I could faintly hear the sound of the downstairs door leading to outside clicking, signaling to me that Chad Dylan Cooper has left the building.

I sighed to myself in relief. I was _alone_.

This whole situation was extremely ironic. Here I was, glad to be alone, in the place where I was first cursed to spend the rest of my life by myself.

I wanted to get things done as soon as I could. Starting with Chad's bedroom.

As soon as I opened the door, I regretted it. It was completely different than in my memory. I remembered it being cleaner than any other girl's room in America. Now, it was completely trashed, as if he had a party with five-hundred people in that medium sized room. I could barely even make out what color carpet he had. And the smell, don't even get me started on the smell. My immediate reaction was to cover my nose with my hand and squeeze my nostril with two fingers to protect myself. It was some sort of weird mixture of rotten fish with the odor of alcohol.

First thing's first: air freshener.

I made my way down the fluffy spiral staircase. Chad didn't tell me where everything was, so I guess I'd have to figure it out on my own.

_Ding, ding, ding…ding ding ding ding!_ The doorbell rang fiercely. Whoever was outside the house of Chad Dylan Cooper, definitely had a problem with patience. "I'm coming, gosh!" I yelled, expecting it to be Chad who forgot his keys or something idiotic and Chad-like as that.

I swung the door open to reveal a five-foot-four twenty-something year old. She was absolutely positively gorgeous, with her curly blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, thin figure, and glamorous designer clothing. She had finally gotten the hang of not over-dressing, apparently. Her popping light green eyes stared at me in disgust and shock. I glared back with the equal amount of emotion.

Reading a million magazines and articles all about the queen of Hollywood would still have not prepared me for this meeting.

"Tawni?"


	8. Confrontation with Tawni Hart

**Happy turkey day, Americans! This chapter is kinda lame, but hey, I typed this last night at 4AM. I figured I hadn't posted in a while so I wanted to make up for it. Not my fault though. I had major friendship drama going on.**

**Don't you just hate it when you have a crappy friend? Or, not even a friend. Someone who you were friends with at FIRST but then you realized how over-dramatic and annoying they are. But you can't just drop them, because you've got like a billion mutual friends. Blech.**

**So anyway, one good thing did come out of the drama. I got a lot closer to one of my friends. She gets why I don't like this girl, and how annoying her whole "I'm more godly than you are" attitude is.**

**She stirred up a fight last week. It was really pointless. She's always like "I never talk about anyone" but she ALWAYS talks about me. And while the fight was going on [which was really me and my friend trying to calm everyone else down and stop the insults from shooting] she was like "Come on guys, let's stop fighting!" when SHE'S the one who intiated it.**

**wafiajwfoiazsjdilfse4w3oeszf;**

**Anyway, my mom, a friend of mine outside of our group, and my one friend, thinks I should just tell this girl off already. But it's really not that easy. If I do that, then it'll look like I'm starting drama, and I'll definitely lose friends.**

**The worst part is, my birthday is in about 2 weeks, and I reallllllly don't want to invite this girl. But if I don't, then one of my closest friends probably won't come because she's like bffs with this girl. And THEN I won't be invited to other stuff.**

**Note to self: Next time, get more mature friends.**

* * *

"Sonny?" Tawni exclaimed in her airy voice. She then fake-coughed to cover her interest up. "I mean, Sonny." she dryly corrected herself as if she didn't care at all that she was seeing her long lost ex-best friend, but she forgets that I knew her. And most likely, she was thinking at that moment, _Ew what is she doing here?_

But it's okay. Because I was thinking the exact same thing.

"I go by Allison now." I told her with an eye roll, as if everyone should already know that.

"That's great. Don't care." she said, pushing past me and into Chad's mansion, her pink three inch heels clacking as she walked down the hall. She was doing a stuck-up London Tipton-like walk.

"Why. Are. You. Here." I focused on each word like they were completely different sentences. She stopped strutting and twirled around to face me again. Putting one hand on her hip, and the other hand reaching up to twirl her blonde hair, she thought the question over for a second. Finally, she spoke. "I could ask you the same question."

Walking into the house after her, I decided to summarize the past two day's events. "Funniest thing happened," I started, recognizing that I was using the same tone I used to when I used to talk to Tawni. Amusement. Since when am I amused?

"There I am, sitting in my trashy apartment, and who knocks on my door? Chad Dylan Cooper. Apparently, he needed a new maid."

"Understandable. His last maid was a dud, and, well, let's face it. He's the definition of lazy." This sentence shocked me. I would've definitely thought the first thing she would do would be laugh at me for having to serve people.

I laughed and nodded my head in agreement. "True."

An awkward silence fell over us after our shared laughter died down a bit.

"Like old times, huh?" I couldn't help but commenting.

The happiness on her face faded and anger replaced it. "If you consider 'old times' you getting Chad to cancel our show, then no."

I scoffed. "Wow, Tawni, do you seriously think I _wanted _Chad to cancel the show that meant so much to me?"

"I don't know _what _you wanted, _Allison_. I mean, one minute you're going behind our backs and dating Chad, and then you're kissing my ex-boyfriend!"

"You and Hayden went on _two _dates. You don't even know what happened that night! And what do you mean 'behind our backs'? You knew I was dating Chad. You were the first person I told!"

We were less than two inches apart now, both our faces red from yelling. "Chad already _told _me what happened that night. You cheated on him with Hayden and humiliated that poor boy!"

"Brainwashed much? Why are you all buddy buddy with Chad anyway? _He's _the one who got So Random canceled. Not me. I was just as much of a victim as you were, if not more."

She rolled her eyes at me, but didn't say anything. So I decided to give her more. "From what I remember, you got even more acting jobs after the show. Me? Back to Wisconsin. Did you know that my mom and I were actually homeless for about two months? While you were kicking it in a mansion while on a reality tv show?"

The anger in her face slowly faded away as the realization of my words registered in her over-confident brain. "Oh. Well. Whatever." she shrugged.

More than anything, I wanted to yell at her again. Maybe something like: _No. Being homeless is _not _"whatever" you superficial brat._

But, like I said before, I knew Tawni. And that was her way of saying, _I'm sorry._

"Whatever."

She seemed to think that this was an acceptance of her "apology", and smiled at me. "Hey, do you think I could know why you guys _really _broke up?"

"Yeah. Sure. It's not that complicated of a story, really. I found out he was using me for sex."

"So where does Hayden come in?"

"He came up with the idea that we would act all coupley to hurt him like he hurt me." I admitted with a shrug. "It seems so stupid now. I could have handled it much more maturely. It did so much damage…" I whispered the last part to myself.

"That makes sense." she replied, staring at the wall next to me instead of directly at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously as I settled down on one of Chad's soft cushioned sofas.

"I read in a magazine once where they asked Hayden if he still talked to you or something, and he said he it was just to make Chad jealous. No one really knew what to believe, though. I mean, he could've answered originally, 'I really like Sonny. The only problem is Chad's jealousy.' but you know how Hollywood twists things."

"Yeah." was all I said in response.

We were wrapped in another silence, this one not so tension-filled.

Suddenly, Tawni clapped her hands. "Right! I forgot the whole reason why I'm here in the first place! Chad's having a party here this Friday and he wanted me to stop by so we could talk more about the guest list, but I guess he's not here?"

I nodded my head. "He's at a shooting, or a meeting, or…something."

"Ah, I see." she rested her own arms on the arms of the chair she was resting in, signaling to me that she was leaving soon. I was surprised that I was actually a little bit disappointed to see my ex-bestfrenemy leave. I guess I had been secretly craving her company since I left.

"Well, I must be going." my heart dropped when the words left her mouth. I wanted to cry out for her not to leave me. I needed a friend. Instead, I followed her to the door to see her out.

"Hey, one question?"

"Yeah?" she turned back around to face me.

"Do you happen to know where the air freshener is?"

She giggled. "You know the room next to the master bedroom? Look a door down to the left from that. There should be a linen closet."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. Really, thanks."

"No problemo, Allison." she smiled back, closing the door lightly behind her. I could still hear the clacking of her heels as she made her way on the pavement path to her car.

Sighing to myself, I started dragging myself back up the stairs and to the closet. Looking at the hanging clock, I realized it was six o' clock now. I didn't feel like cleaning a twenty-one year old _boy_'s room. No. I felt like _sleeping. _I couldn't help but yawn when I was back on the second floor, just steps away from my room. But it wasn't worth the risk. So, I took out the can of Febreeze and braced myself for Chad Dylan Cooper's bedroom. Ew.

After an hour of boredom, I was ready to collapse. Wondering how I could make this more fun for myself, I approached his stereo. After searching through his Cds, I finally found one I considered acceptable. Seriously. All he had was rap and mainstream crap. Popping the disc in, I could finally hear Kelly Clarkson's beautiful voice blaring out of the amazing sound system Chad had set up.

_Seems like just yesterday  
You were a part of me  
I used to stand so tall  
I used to be so strong  
Your arms around me tight  
Everything, it felt so right  
Unbreakable, like nothin' could go wrong  
Now I can't breathe  
No, I can't sleep  
I'm barely hanging on_

_Here I am, once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it, can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up, deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes  
_

A light wave went through me as I remembered when I heard this song for the first time. I had no idea how relatable it would soon be for me. Now, here I was, in the middle of Chad Dylan Cooper's bedroom, singing my heart out to Kelly Clarkson as I folded his dirty clothes. To say that I didn't have a clue twenty-four hours ago that I'd be here would definitely be the biggest understatement in the world.

_I told you everything  
Opened up and let you in  
You made me feel alright  
For once in my life  
Now all that's left of me  
Is what I pretend to be  
So together, but so broken up inside  
'Cause I can't breathe  
No, I can't sleep  
I'm barely hangin' on_

_Here I am, once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it, can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up, deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes_

_Swallow me then spit me out  
For hating you, I blame myself  
Seeing you it kills me now  
No, I don't cry on the outside  
Anymore..._

_Here I am, once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it, can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up, deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes_

_Here I am, once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it, can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up, deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes  
_

Instead of another drum beat from the song, I heard slow, deep, muffled, clapping.

"Very nice, Monroe." I sharply spun around and frowned when my eyes met Chad Dylan Cooper's. He was leaning on the side of the door frame, with a cocky expression on his face. As always.

I shrugged, trying to make it appear that I wasn't horribly embarrassed at all; my beet red face betraying me. I looked back at the spotless room and started heading torwards the kitchen with my head held high. "I try."

_

* * *

_

**Me again. This is actually different than I intended it to be. Originally, Sonny wasn't going to see Tawni until the party. She was actually going to have written the song Behind These Hazel Eyes, and Chad would hear it and be like "whoa". I still want that to happen. Like, Chad discovering Sonny's song book. Er, Allison's. But I need you guys to reccomend me a good song that basically has how ALLISON has felt for the last three years.**

**I actually listen to this song while I write this story. You know, to get me in the mooooooood.**

**Also, guess who Allison is gonna run into one day? HAYDEN. That's right, Hayden. But should he be:**

**A. Turned into a bigger jerk than Chad. Hollywood got to him.**

**B. Just as nice as he always was.**

**C. A jerk, but he was always a jerk. And he only pretended to care about Sonny that day at Chad's party three years back for publicity.**

**Whatever letter has the highest vote is Hayden's new personality =]**


	9. Lunch Time

**AN:** **Let me start off by saying this.**

**I suck.**

**Honestly, when I joined fanfiction, is when I started writing again. The only other time I attempted to write was when I was 9. I was going to be the author of this story involving a runaway princess and spies. But I totally failed at it because I was incapable of writing the sad parts. And that's _still _my problem. THREE of my closest friends have a cutting problem, due to the chain of events in their life so far. I figured if this all happened to Sonny, she would probably turn to the razor also. But me, being an always happy optomistic person, have major trouble writing her battle with depression. I mean, yeah, my best friends have experienced it, but not me. So please excuse me if the sad scenes are like...crappy. **

**Oh and please continue voting [only if you haven't already] about Hayden's new personality [found at the end of the last chapter]. **

**And just a comfort, no matter WHAT the majority choice ends up being, Chad _will _be jealous, and Sonny/Allison _will _end up having a friend to help her through everything.**

**Thanks.**

**Don't forget to review!! The more reviews, the more I'm motivated to write another chapter. The more I'm motivated, the sooner it'll be on here.**

* * *

"I'm hungry." Chad stated.

"That's too bad." I said unsympathetically.

It's been about four hours since Chad arrived. He would alternate from watching tv, to "taking care of business" in his living room, to watching me clean up. Apparently, I was very good entertainment. Every single time he would come to check up on me, he would leave with a laugh. I hate how he thinks he's better than me after all this time. After all of this mistreatment, all traces of leftover feelings I may have had for him had disappeared. Sure, he was good looking. But he's not worth my pain. Actually, I was even starting to see him as ugly now. The uglier he got, the better about myself I felt. Now, all I wanted was for these two weeks to be over already, so I could go back to my mom. After the episode with Tawni earlier, I was a lot less stressed and angst-y. I wasn't even _started_ letting all of my anger and frustration out, but it was enough for now.

"Well?"

I stopped mopping the already-spotless floor [Chad said that there _was_ in fact dirt; I just wasn't looking hard enough] and stared at him. "Well, what?" I asked, even though I knew he wanted me to prepare his food. I had a short flashback to when he first guest-starred on my show. I believe his words were, "Which one of you girls is gonna make me a sammich?" or something idiotic of the sort.

"It's lunch time." he pointed to the clock. "You're the maid." he approached me. "Make. Me. My. Lunch!" he barked, causing me to wince.

"Fine. Whatever." I carelessly dropped the wet mop onto the floor and went in the kitchen.

"So, what does your fabulousness want today?" I asked sarcastically.

"It's The Great One. Not Your Fabulousness."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." The example of his never-ending conceitedness that he had just presented to me, added to the Tawni fight I had experienced earlier that day, confirmed that I was totally and officially done with him and this whole state. I was ready to move on.

After this, only thirteen more days.

Thirteen.

Thirteen.

Thirteen.

Thirteen.

I focused hard on that number, willing it to shrink. Unfortunately, only the seconds ticked, while the days did not.

"Just cut the attitude already and make me a sammich, a'ight?"

I laughed at his poor language. "A'ight, The Great One." I said mockingly before I started to approach the kitchen.

"So what would Mr. Cooper like on his 'sammich'?"

I could hear him following me on the wood floor. He cleared his throat. "I would like my sandwich with roast beef, ham, and turkey." I nodded and opened the cabinet for a plate. "Ah ah ah, I'm not done yet."

"Okay then…" I prompted him.

"I would like my meat with horse radish covering them, mustard, five slices of Swiss and American cheese, mayonnaise, onion, and one tomato. Both thinly sliced."

My mouth was watering. Note to self: Make two sandwiches.

"Wait, I'm still not done."

"Really, Chad, there's more? Really?" I asked, knowing he would ignore my stolen sarcasm and continue with the rest of his order.

"I also want one-fourth cup of melted butter, lemon juice, salt, lettuce, and sesame seeds. All on toasted bread."

I stared, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't speak [thank God], I realized he was finally done. "Oh, you're finished?"

"Yes, Sonny. I'm finished."

I groaned. "I _really _wish you'd call me Allison."

"And I _really _wish I was eating a sandwich right now."

"Fine."

Chad looked satisfied as I took out all of the ingredients from his refrigerator. I sighed in relief when he finally left the room, leaving me to prepare his meal in peace. I had to admit, it was nice to have goals and ambitions litterally right in front of me. So what if my current goal was making a sandwich for a pampered Hollywood celebrity, that just so happened to break my heart?

At least it was _something._

Right as I was about to slice a tomato, Chad came rushing in.

"Noooo!" he screamed. I looked at him, bewildered, as he ran torwards me. Possibly in slow motion.

Well, even though it felt like he was _running _in slow motion, time sped up times-five when he made contact with me. It all happened so fast. Chad tearing the knife from my hand and throwing it to the floor, him hugging my body to his, and the fruit…or…vegetable…or…whatever it is, sliding to the ground with a big plopping sound.

"I thought we had a deal." he whispered, out of breath. My body was still clung to his.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we agreed, while you're here, no cutting."

"Again, what do you mean? I wasn't cutting…well, I was cutting the tomato, yes, but not me."

His fast breathing stopped, and he loosened his grip on me lightly. And shockingly enough, that made me disappointed.

"But…the blood."

"Blood? What bloo - _ooooh._" I looked down to the counter below me, where red juice was splattered.

"Chad…that's from the tomato."

He loosened even more, causing the slight smile on my face to fall along with his arms.

"But…I thought…"

"Chad Dylan Cooper, were you _caring_?"

His warmth was completely gone from me now. I turned around to face him, watching with a tiny amount of amusement as he straightened his dress-clothes. This was the first time I had _really _looked at him all day. And to say the least, he looked _perfect_.

His force laughed tore me out of my idiotic, juvenile thoughts about my new _boss_. Who, by the way, I was just a minuscule step away from hating less than twenty minutes ago.

"Why would I care about _you_?" He let out another laugh, even though I found nothing in that sentence funny at all.

"You're just the maid. My own personal servant. Nothing more to me. Practically nothing at _all _to me, actually."

Crap. I felt a tingly feeling coming from my eyes and nose again, meaning I was about to cry. No no no no no _no! _

I tried to focus my attention on something else, but my brain refused to meet my wishes. It just kept playing Chad's words over and over again in my head like a broken record.

Unable to hide my emotions any longer, the tears I was holding in literally flew out of my eyes.

"Awh, did I make you cry?" Chad asked with mock sympathy. I opened my mouth to spit out a comeback, but my voice wouldn't cooperate.

"Listen. I'll say this to you as nice as I can, okay Sonshine?"

_Don't call me Sonshine. _

He smiled when I didn't respond. "I'll take that as a yes. Listen. We dated, once upon a time, true. But honestly, even then you were annoying, and not a very good actress. You had _no _talent whatsoever. Why else do you think that after So Random!, Nico, Grady, Tawni, and even Zora got acting jobs, but not you?"

_Because you gave me a bad name to all producers and agents **everywhere**__. _

He cupped my chin in a way that could be mistaken for loving, but I knew that it was purely for hate. "But we're not talking about once upon a time, are we? No. We're talking about here and now. You work for me. I have no emotional, physical, or _any _kind of feelings for you. You're just trash I picked up from Wisconsin that I figured I could use as knock-off treasure to own for two weeks."

His harsh blue eyes glared into my tear-filled hazel ones.

_Please, stop, Chad. Please. _

As if reading my mind, he dropped his cold hand from my chin with a triumphant grin, and started leaving the room. Before I was officially safe, however, he turned back to face me.

"You know, if you want to, you can think of yourself as Cinderella if you want your life to feel like a fairytale again. Only you already found your handsome prince, and you blew it. Congrats."

He then left the room, leaving me with my self-destructing thoughts. My first instinct was to grab the knife and slice something else _besides _the fruitable, but I had to be strong.

Yup. I'm not gonna do it.

I'm not gonna let Chad reduce me to that.

Although, I guess barely breaking the skin won't hurt…

Well, it will. But you know what I mean.

* * *

I had just almost violated Rule 5. The most important rule of all.

**Whatever you do, **_**don't **_**let her know that you sometimes care. Even though you don't.**

Luckily, me being a great actor and all, I was able to turn it right back around. It killed me to see her cry; even though that's what I've wanted ever since I found out she cheated on me. It was what I _needed_.

But even after hurting her feelings like I did, I still wasn't satisfied.

Did I go too far, or not far enough?

I'm an idiot. Plain and simple. Why should I even think about her, except for new ways to upset her? I should just be done with her and move on. It was a mistake bringing her here for revenge. But I can't go back now. Now, I had to look on the bright side.

At least I had a sandwich coming to me.

After a few minutes of angrily pacing back and forth, I tore open the kitchen door to see Sonny, knife in hand, holding it to her wrist. She would raise it up, then settle it back down; debating what to do with it. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.

"Stop." I demanded, before she decided to slice open her skin.

She spun around to face me. I felt my heart drop when I saw the hurt and confused expression still on her face.

"Sonny," I sighed, not knowing exactly what to say. It's not like I could tell her. She looked at me expectantly, and I knew I had to finish.

"Sonny…" I trailed off again. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Sonny." I said more firmly this time. "Just, don't. Okay?"

She looked hesitantly at me. "But I thought you didn't care." her soft voice squeaked out.

I walked up to her, took the knife out of her hand and rested it on the table, and pulled her in for the second hug in twenty-four hours. I internally yelled at myself for taking a sniff from her gorgeous brown hair. What the crap was I doing?

"Stop." she said.

I let go of her and gazed at her in confusion. "What?"

"I said, stop."

I took a few steps backwards for her, still looking at her for an explanation.

"Chad, you've been messing with my emotions for the past day and a half now. And I don't think I can take it any longer. So just pick an emotion. Do you hate me, or not?"

I thought about it for a second. Do I? I've seen guys who hate their exes with a passion for cheating on them and humiliating them not even as bad as Sonny did to me. But I was Chad Dylan Cooper. And Chad Dylan Cooper was not the average guy. Chad Dylan Cooper wasn't a hateful guy, either.

"No." I finally decided. "I don't hate you. Not at all."

She sighed in relief, and her hurtful look faded into a smile.

"Fine." she said.

"Fine."

Her smile grew even wider when she realized what I was doing. Now, I was looking at a full-out Sonny of So Random! smile.

"Good."

"Good."

We just stood there for a while, smiling at each other like idiots. It wasn't an _I-love-you _smile. Ew, no. It was more of an, _I-don't-want-to-kill-you-right-now-and-I-guess-that's-the-first-step_ smile_._

"So," I started, breaking the silence. "How about that sandwich?


	10. Day One

I had to practically force Sonny to eat all of her food. She made an extra sandwich for her, took a bite out of it, then said she was full. I figured that this must be one of her daily eating habits. It's the only explanation for how skinny she is. She put up a fight at first, but eventually gave in to my demand. We finished eating our lunch together without incident. In fact, we didn't even attempt to share a conversation. That would just ruin things, and we both knew it. Because as soon as we finished eating, I would bark more orders at her. No matter how much I wanted to soften up, it was the inevitable. I just couldn't get around it. While I was contemplating how I should approach her from now on, she stared off into space the entire time. Obviously she was thinking of something that worried her, because her face would scrunch up in a displeasing way from time to time. I was immensely curious, but I didn't to accidentally make her think that I was her friend or anything like that. Just because I don't want her to kill herself and care about her overall well-being, does _not _mean under _any _circumstance that I would want to be even an_ acquaintance _with her. No _hey, how are you'_s involved. Ever. So while she was buried in her thoughts, I decided to allow my mind to drift off as well. I wasn't surprised when I realized all of the words floating through my head were all about _her_. I wondered what her life was like now in Wisconsin that pushed her to turn into such a dark person. Or maybe she was always like this, but just hid it when she lived here? Was the always happy Sonny Monroe just a character she made up? Maybe she's a writer. I hear writers sometimes _live _the characters they make up. Was it all just for fun, then? Did she not care about any of us at all? Did she pretend to date me, just so she can find the right words and emotions for her _book_ or something like that?

Just one glance at her was all it took to dismiss my latest theory. Sonny was always Sonny. That optimism and never-ending cheer just can't be faked. Even if you're the greatest actress to ever grace a comedy show. Yes, I have to give Sonny her props. She wasn't all that bad. In acting, I mean. In life was a completely different story. In real life, she was just another girl to come along and use me to boost up her social status. Tons of girls have done it before, which is why I usually dumped them as soon as I picked up on their charade. But with Sonny…it was different. I liked her, I really did. I don't think I _loved _her like I told her I did, but I did like her more than I had ever liked any other girl. I liked her so much, that I foolishly allowed her to break my heart. Something that I had never experienced before until she came around. I used to _love _spending time with her for that mere purpose. New feelings. New experiences. It was all so _new_ to me. So new, that I got a little bit too caught up in it all. I wasn't supposed to be attracted to her any more than any other hot girl. I was supposed to be stringing her along until she carelessly had sex with me. At first, I started to feel bad about it. But James comforted me numerous times by reminding me that Sonny had _no _problem whatsoever with having sex. She was just one of those promiscuous girls. Me dating her simply for money and a joke with my friends wouldn't hurt her. Maybe it would teach her not to go sleeping with every guy she saw. I was doing her a favor.

I found myself doubting James's words more often than not. I had spent a lot of time with Sonny, and gotten to know her a lot better. My parents adored her, she never wore skimpy clothing, and, weirdly enough, even in our hottest of makeout sessions, she would always stop me from going below the belt. She even had me doubting my looks. I mean, no doubt I was way hotter than James, but she slept with _him _on the first date! Why wouldn't she sleep with me after six months?

At first I thought it was because she wanted more with me than a one night stand. Or _maybe, _just _maybe_, she was stringing another guy along on the side to fill her sexual desires.

In the end, James was right. Sonny _was _just a slut who didn't care about anyone but herself. I told myself that over and over and over and over and _over _again. It gave me slight peace, but not much. Because, no matter how much I doubted it to my friends, I cared about Sonny Monroe.

Now, she was gone. Just a ghost of her was left behind. _This is what she deserved all along_, I kept telling myself. She _deserved_ falling flat on her pathetic ass (theoretically, of course. Let's face it: her ass is _perfect_) after all she had put me through. Yet, I couldn't help but sympathize for the girl who had broken my heart so coldly. I was torn between two overpowering emotions: love or hate? And no, I don't mean love as in _in _love. I mean love as in caring about another person and hoping they get themselves together. Really, cutting? No matter what I'd ever go through, I would never _ever _resort to cutting. It's just weak. Sonny was never weak. Sonny was one of the most strongest people I knew.

But I had to remind myself yet again: This wasn't Sonny I was dealing with. This was "Allison".

It creeped me out, honestly. Two names, two personalities, one person. It was just like those creepy scary movies. Like the one with that little boy who talked to his finger. Or the other movie with the crazy psycho killer for a dad, who would at one point show love and affection to his children, then a split second later, change into some murderous crazy person who would threaten them at gun point and hang their beloved family cat, dead on the wall.

Then again, maybe those are really bad examples. Both of those people were actually two persons at once. With Sonny, well, she wasn't Sonny anymore. It feels like an eternity since she's been Sonny. I can still see it in her dull brown eyes. If I looked hard enough, I could see a tiny hint of sparkle shine from them. Sonny was still there, somewhere, deep inside of Allison. She was keeping her captive. Part of me wanted to rescue Sonny, but the other part wanted to let her suffer. She deserves it after the suffering she put _me _through.

"I guess lunch time is over, huh?" Sonny's cautious voice yanked me out of my attempt at sorting out the mystery that is Allison/Sonny, and forced me to stare down at my empty plate. "Yeah, I guess so." I agreed, staring down at the bread crumbs and scattered pieces of lettuce on the glass platter. I started to move to put my plate in the sink, then an epiphany dawned on me: I have a _maid _to do that for me.

I smiled to myself as I felt a small weight being lifted off of my shoulders. It was more gratifying than anyone will ever know, not having to do my own chores. One horrible thing about living alone: You have to clean up after yourself. Sure, I'm Chad Dylan Cooper, and I have people to do it for me, right? Well, wrong. Kinda. My last maid was a greasy foreign woman who often cursed at me in her native language. After much annoyance, I finally fired her; meaning that I went a whole _month _without cleaning service. It was true that it's just so hard to find good help these days. I called this fancy cleaning agency, hoping for them to send someone else to take care of my trash for me, but apparently they were booked. I laughed at the lady on the phone and stressed to her that I was Chad Dylan Cooper, and I _demanded _for my house to be cleaned, ASAP. Shockingly enough, the lady didn't seem phased by my name at all, and suggested I just hire a full-time _maid. _So I did. Her name is Alice. But she can't come out for another two weeks, so…

Well, you know what happens from there.

Stretching my arms out with a smile, I glanced at Sonny yet again. She looked unsure of what I wanted her to do. Wasn't it obvious? I guess she dumbed down some without me there to guide her.

"You do the dishes. Not just these, but there's a pile in the sink, too. I'm gonna go take a nap." I informed her. She nodded, and then walked torwards the silver sink a few feet away from the table. I heard her gasp at the amount of dirty plates, forks, spoons, knives, and cups dumped in there. So I was too lazy to do anything for a while. So what? It's not like I ran out. Well, I did at one point, but I just went out and bought some more. Problem solved.

"Chad…"

"Yes?"

"You _do _have a dishwasher, right?"

I smirked and stood up. "Funny thing about that, actually. It broke."

"It broke." she repeated, staring into my eyes in disbelief.

"Yup. But don't worry. You won't be bored after you finish this. You still have to clean all of the upstairs bathrooms, turn on the fireplace, and then start preparing my dinner. It's just oven pizza, so don't worry. And, by the way, I'll cut the slices myself, okay?"

She gasped dramatically. "Do you not trust me, Mr. Cooper?" she fluttered her eyelashes and held her hand over her O-shaped mouth.

"Not at all." I winked at her before slapping the wall and starting to walk out of the room.

"Don't forget to towel-dry!" I called out, smiling again when I heard her groan.

I stopped dead in my tracks when a pounding question entered my brain.

Were we just…flirting?

* * *

So far, not-so-horrible. The day passed with surprising ease. Chad and I had the occasional dispute over little things. Like apparently, I didn't wash the dishes the _right way. _I didn't clean the bathroom _the right way_. And I didn't start the fireplace _the right way_. What is the conclusion to my day? Chad is an obsessive compulsive freak. Dinner actually went great, though. We were making actual _civilized _conversation! Shocking, I know. Chad asked me if I hated this job yet, and I asked him (half serious) if he was willing to just give me the money and send me home.

Not a chance.

He spent the majority of dinner telling me all about his newest movie. Actually, it wasn't even about the movie. It was all about _him_, and _his part _in the movie. Also shocking, I know. Even after all these years, he's still predictable as ever.

Now, I lay in bed, going over the day's events again and again in my head, wondering if I should expect the same thing tomorrow. All in all, I'd say today went pretty well. Much better than I expected. But I couldn't help but feel an ache of pain continuously shoot through me. I missed my mom. I wanted more than anything to race home and check on her, but that would be pointless. I made the doctor promise me that he'd have someone call me if anything with my mom went wrong while I was away. I checked my phone again, and had to squint my eyes shut from the harsh light generated from the screen.

**No new messages.**

**No missed calls.**

**No new voice mail.**

That was something to be ecstatic about, but a feeling in the pit of my stomach yearned for _any _news about my mom. I wish I had thought to bring a picture of her before. I needed her so badly. In a way, though, I _was _with her. I mean, why was I here anyway? For _her _of course. Everything I did here was for _her_.

Looking at my calendar, I reminded myself that today was Monday.

Four days from the party Chad was throwing. I mentally smacked myself when I realized I forgot to remind him that Tawni came by.

Oh well. I'll just tell him in the morning.

* * *

**AN: I LOVE writing in Chad's POV. It's so much easier than Allison's. With the other SWAC fic I wrote on here, I found it more fun to write in Sonny's POV than Chad's. But we're not gonna see Sonny's shining personality for quite a few more chapters. So Chad's my favorite for now. **

**Don't get me wrong, I love Sonny. Even when she's Allison. But it seems like all I can write about her is:**

**_I miss my mom_**

**_I hate Chad_**

**_I hate my life_**

**_I wish everybody would die_**

**I'm not trying to downplay her situation at all. I mean, if I went through all she did, I would probably be like that too. But it can get really reptitive, so I'll have to come up with a new aspect of her Allisonness.**

**This has nothing to do with the story, but, can you believe how time flies? I mean, I'm about to turn FOURTEEN. I remember when I was 4 going on 5, talking excitedly to my mom about how pumped I was to be a whole hand.**

**I've ran out of fingers!!**

**Haha anyway, thanks for your amazing reviews, guys.**

**I LOVE YOU ALL.**


	11. Wake Up Call

**I realllllly wanted to post this chapter a few days earlier. But, guess what happened? I got SICK. And THEN, I couldn't get these other story ideas out of my head. So I wrote a few oneshots, and a few chapters to a story that I'm gonna be publishing after I finish this one. Also, I've got major writer's block. There really isn't going to be a lot happening in the story for a few more chapters. So I get to write a bunch of fillers. Joy. **

**Review and I'll be your best friend forever.**

* * *

You know what the best part is when you're sleep? The part where you're having the most perfect dream you've ever...dreamed of. And you're just turning over and repositioning yourself, half-asleep, which allows you to have somewhat control of your bizarre dreams. And you can finally have the choice of placing yourself in whatever place you want, with whomever you want. It's your pure wishes. No thought of right or wrong involved. The act of catching yourself in the middle of a dream and starting another doesn't occur very often. But when it does, it's the most magical thing in the world.

Unfortunately, as soon as my personal dream story began, Fergie's song Fabulous distorted it until it exploded, causing my eyes to shoot open. Searching for the source of the intruding noise, I looked around my room until my eyes laid on my vibrating cellphone. I cursed to myself before picking it up and pressing the green answer button.

"What is it, Tawni?" I asked dryly, not_ really_ caring.

"Did Sonny tell you I stopped by yesterday?" the bubbling blonde's voice replied. She sounded wide awake, but the sun was barely up. What the hell was wrong with that girl? Does she not know that this is Chad's sleepy time? And wasn't she always droning on and on about her "beauty sleep"? Tawni is a party girl, and usually doesn't fall asleep until a few hours after midnight.

Maybe she just got home.

"You stopped by yesterday? And you saw Sonny?" I sat up now, anxious to hear the rest of the story.

"Yeah, so she didn't tell you?"

"No…so what happened?" I asked, very curious. Brushing the hair out of my eyes, I awaited Tawni's response.

Tawni wasn't supposed to know about Sonny here yet. I needed to tell her myself, so she would be prepared, so no fighting would break out. The last thing I needed was a repeat of previous events.

It was the day I had So Random canceled.

Kind of immature to do, I know. But I had to do _something_. I wasn't going to let Sonny step all over me. She wanted to use me to boost up her fame? I'd use my fame to lower _her _down. I remembered when the idea was first presented to me, by none other than James himself. I was sitting in the cafeteria that day, watching Sonny giggle while she talked to Hayden. She made a point of directing her powerful brown eyes at me every few seconds, just in case I didn't get the point before: She didn't care about me. She _wanted _me to see that she moved on. She wanted to make it seem like Hayden was better than me. I had already lost a few movie gigs, because producers seemed to prefer Hayden. And with the Channy V.S. Sayden rumors going on, Sonny's popularity increased day by day. I wasn't going to let those two win. I was, and always will be, Chad Dylan freaking Cooper. I was going to make her regret messing with my heart for her own personal gain. James slid in a chair next to me and noticed my depressed expression as I pretended not to notice Sonny and Hayden. "You know, dude, Hayden's getting really famous." he said to me.

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked sarcastically, still looking down at my lobster. As long as it didn't turn into Sonny, I was free from danger.

"I still don't even know why you're upset over this. I told you all along that she didn't care about you. She doesn't care about _anyone_. You should know, after all these years of Hollywood, that people like her will never change. And plus, you didn't even like her or anything. You were just dating her for the bet, right?"

When I didn't say anything, he tried make me confirm again.

"_Right?_" he prompted me.

I looked up to him cautiously, just in case Sonny was behind him. Once I saw no sign of the girl, I deemed it safe to look around. Everyone had pretty much cleared out. The only person left besides James and me was Brenda the lunch lady. She winked at me from afar, causing me to shiver in disgust.

"Right. So what do I do about it?"

"You, my friend," he started, pointing to me, "Are gonna get her fired from her show before Hayden replaces you on yours."

"Why would I do that? She's talented, James," I reminded him. When I saw the startled and disapproving look on my friend's face, I covered myself. "She's a bitch, but she's talented. She'll get any acting job after this."

I mentally kicked myself when I realized how true that sentence was. Sonny's career was going to skyrocket, while mine plummeted. How could I let myself get fooled into liking a girl like Sonny? The girl Sonny _pretended _to be is just the girl I've always needed. Smart, good with children, loving, forgiving, funny, gorgeous, successful, down to earth, childish, yet mature. We fit so perfectly together. Like two halves of a heart. The girl that Sonny _is, _however, is a mean, selfish, heartbreaking, careless, Hollywood diva. The worst part is though, no mater who she _is _or is _not_, I have undeniably strong feelings for her. And that scared me more than anything ever had before.

"So fix that." James said simply.

"Huh? How do I _fix _that?"

"You have connections." was all he said before standing up and leaving the room.

I had tried to comprehend his words and use them to the best of my ability. I have connections with a lot of people…mostly with producers and casting agents, though.

And that's when it clicked. All I had to do to ensure that Sonny stayed on the bottom of the food chain was to cancel her show and make sure she never worked in this town again. Without Sonny, Hayden's new fans would decrease. They only liked him because Sonny liked him. Eliminate Sonny from the equation, and Chad Dylan Cooper is back on top. Free to continue to rule, and free to move on.

A few hours after I completed the deed, I was walking down one of the hallways of Condor Studios. Even from all the way at the end of it, I could hear the intelligible screaming and smashing and crying. Once I got closer, I saw the star on the door indicating that it was Sonny and Tawni's dressing room. My heart cringed a tad at seeing my ex-girlfriend's name, but quickly recovered. I opened the door just a crack to see what was going on. I was a witness of nothing but pure cat-fight. And it was the most disturbing, scary, yet hot experience of my life.

Afterwards, Sonny stormed out like the diva she is, and I heard the most stunning sound in the world: The sound of Tawni Hart's cries. Not knowing what to do, I stepped into the destroyed room and _comforted _the superficial girl. With her head in her hands, I realized that the cause of both the fight and her sobs were me canceling their beloved TV show. As I managed to get her somewhat stable, I regretted persuading Mr. Condor to exterminate So Random. I could've just gotten Sonny fired, but I knew that wouldn't work. Even though I unintentionally crushed a big part of Tawni that day, it was the day we became friends. And I wouldn't change that for the world.

Now, that friend of mine who cursed, yelled, pulled, and kicked Sonny that day, was surprisingly the same one who now told me, "It was fine. We talked, we laughed. I actually missed her."

I sat there, jaw-dropped, unable to utter a single word.

"Chad? You there?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered, "B-But…wait. Were you joking? You _were_ joking, right?"

"'Bout what?"

"'Bout Sonny." I imitated her up-beat, yet dense tone.

"Oh, about us getting along? Yeah, at first it was a little tense, but.." she trailed off, her voice sounding off and confused.

"But what?"

"She had a good point…why was I mad at her for all these years, when you were the one who got the show shut off?"

I was extremely taken back by this. Tawni never questioned her hatred torwards Sonny. Tawni never questioned her hatred torwards _anyone_. We went on with our lives after Sonny left, occasionally making fun of her. She somehow even managed to get her usually loyal friends to disown her, too. And now, after all this time, all Tawni had to do was see her and she was forgiven, and mad at _me_?

"Tawn, you can't be serious."

"But I am. I'll help you plan your party, Chad. I'll even attend said party. But…I need some time to think."

"About _what_?"

"Everything. Look, I'll talk to you later." she said in a serious tone that I had never heard out of her before, and then hung up.

I groaned and looked at the clock, sadly noticing that it was 6AM. My original plan was to sleep until seven, and let Sonny sleep in until eight. She deserved it for everything that happened yesterday.

That was then. This is now. And now, I'm way to pissed to sleep, _or _let her sleep. I'm losing one of my most closest friends, all because of her.

Miss Sonshine was going _down_.

* * *

"Get up." a cold voice boomed. Why was someone telling me to get up when they were just singing me to sleep in the middle of a grassy field, with the roses swinging back and forth due to the steady wind?

I opened my heavy eyes slowly, to reveal my chess-like bedroom. Turning at an even different angle, I saw a bit of blonde hair and blue eyes. Immediately, I realized that I _wasn't _dreaming anymore, and I _wasn't _surrounded by flowers.

Figuring that we got along semi-well the day before, I allowed myself to smile up at him. "Hey, Chad." I greeted.

After a few seconds of no reply, I noticed his facial expressions. His eye was twitching slightly (which it only did when he was _really _upset), he wasn't smiling back, and he _sure _didn't look ready for morning greetings.

I sat up in my bed and tilted my head to the side in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me Tawni came over yesterday?" he fumed.

I read his angry expression and gave him a slight smile before explaining. "Sorry, just with so much going on, I forgot. I figured I'd just tell you today."

"Sonny. You're supposed to tell me when people call _or _visit while I'm absent."

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't know it was so urgent, or that I'm supposed to be your secretary too." I said defensively with a bit of sarcasm.

"You know, Sonshine, I was _gonna _let you sleep until eight today. But forget it. You're up, get to work. _Now._" he ordered sternly before storming out of the room and slamming the door.

"Anger issues much?" I whispered out for the second time in this house, a bit shaken up from my lovely wakeup call.

Why did he care so much, anyway? So what I accidentally forgot to tell him Tawni showed up? It wasn't like super important or anything.

Unless…they have something going on currently. Chad said they _were _dating, so why wouldn't he mention that they were _now _dating?

Maybe it was a friends with benefits thing.

I reluctantly parted from my comfy bed and made my way to the bathroom. I watched myself yawn in the reflection from the mirror before brushing my teeth and combing my hair.

Today, I wanted to change things up a bit. I added a pale green color with my otherwise black ensemble, and even put on a bit of the makeup that Elyse had left me.

I admired myself in the full-length mirror and smiled. I actually looked really amazing. My type of amazing. Not Elyse's. I mean, the makeover was great and everything, but I preferred to keep _my _style.

I was wearing black bell-bottomed pants that had a soft material to it, with black suede ankle boots, the stylish green shirt that I had spontaneously chosen, and a green headband to match.

I decided that the reason for me getting much more dressed up than usual was the Tawni visit yesterday. What if someone else stops by? I want them to think I'm better without them. Not worse. Even if it's a complete lie.

Where does Chad go anyway that's so super important that he has to wake up at five in the morning? Maybe he's a spy. Wait, nevermind. Spies have to be cunning and smart and charming and _nice_. Chad was only one of the four.

Regardless, I opened my bedroom door and inhaled the cold air from the air-conditioner. "Sonny, you should be down here now!" Chad's voice yelled from the bottom of the stairs. I rolled my eyes. Why couldn't he be gone? I liked it much better when he left to go somewhere yesterday, and left me to do my work by myself. Hate him.

"I'm coming!" I yelled out before taking off down the stairs.

I was beginning to lose my balance around the fourth or so step, and came flying down the rest of them.

Instead of my head immediately making hard contact with the hard wood floor, I was in an upright position; my feet dangling just above the ground.

"Hey." Chad said in a deep, groggy voice; no longer exuding anger, but tiredness instead.

"Hey." I whispered. I then noticed _why _I wasn't in need of a trip to the hospital, and none of my bones were broken. Chad had caught me right before I stumbled to my doom. My arms were thrown over his neck, and he was holding my waist. Our bodies were pressed together, and neither of us made an effort to move.

I wasn't sure if he felt the awkwardness as much as I was drowning in it, but I felt the need to say something either way to break the screaming silence.

"So…" I started awkwardly.

"So…" he repeated with a smirk on his face. His dancing blue eyes informed me that he was poking fun at me.

"Do you _enjoy _mocking me, Mr. Cooper?"

He laughed. "You have no idea."

He put me down after that, which caused me to feel a cold disappointment that was completely unnoticeable to Chad.

"Speaking of, you can stop calling me Mr. Cooper and all those other weird names I made up. Even though I know you're teasing, it makes me feel all…weird and old and mentally insane." he said, straightening his clothes. He was only wearing black sweatpants and a white t-shirt that clung to his body. I did my best not to get caught up in his alluring body, and looked away.

"Okay, no more weird names." I giggled my agreement, sticking out my hand to shake his. He looked at it for a brief moment before reaching his out as well to meet mine.

"You're wearing a color besides black." he commented, surprised.

"Way to go, Captain Point Out the Obvious."

"Hey, you're not allowed to make _new _names for me. Chad is just fine." he grinned at me, only to allow fury to overcome it less than seconds later. "I'm hungry. Make me some eggs, Sonshine." he spoke with intense harshness and glared at me before taking off to another part of the house.

_He's so moody._


	12. Testing The Limits

**Rule 1: Show no sympathy.**

**Rule 2: Put all joking aside. Even if she by chance generates humor, ignore it.**

**Rule 3: Show no care.**

**Rule 4: Put yourself first.**

**Rule 5: Humiliation and domination deserves a congratulations.**

**Rule 6: Don't let her overcome your thoughts.**

**Rule 7: Make her constantly regret cheating.**

**Rule 8: Think of ways to make her life hell, but don't make her know you're putting thought into it.**

**Rule 9: You're a bachelor. Even though you've got a hot girl at your house doing whatever you want, go out and get another girl. Just because you can.**

**Rule 10: Above all else, remember to do that one thing that you've been meaning to do for three years.**

Ten rules, written out in my messy handwriting, in the second-person narrative. Ten rules. Ten simple instructions on how to behave while Sonny is here. Ten rules that I at first expected to be a piece lovely, soft, vanilla cake, with fluffy pink frosting spread on top. Maybe some chocolate sprinkles, too.

A few days in, and it's far from it.

Sonny has been testing each and every one of these words on the guideline, as if she studied it thoroughly and decided it would be fun to see how many she could get me to disobey. I put up a forceful struggle, though. So forceful, that my mood varied by the minute. I'd unintentionally let my guard down, then when I realized it, I'd become even meaner than before to cover it up. Sonny was shaken up and upset by it at first, but I think she's gotten used to it. Even though I had managed to somewhat follow the ten rules I set up, I had an extra hard time with six. She was always in my thoughts, haunting me. When that happened, I found myself mourning the old Sonny she used to be, and cursed her at the same time.

"Sonny." I breathed, when I heard her enter the room.

"You read?" she asked, referring to the book in my lap.

"Obviously."

She brushed off my sarcastic remark and sat down on the wooden chair next to me. I looked up from the page I was on and over to her, as she was staring off into space.

"What do you want?" I asked emotionless, making sure to apply rule number three. Which, technically, I had already violated _three times _due to her new self-destruction kick.

"I'm bored."

"Did you finish doing everything on the chore list I gave you earlier?" I asked.

"Everything." she assured me.

"You cleaned out the pool?"

"Toilet too." she confirmed, picking at her nails.

It was only four o' clock, and I had really counted on Sonny working all day. I was going to finally apply Rule 9, which I had extremely lacked to do ever since she got here. I used to go out every night. Why was I going to bed before midnight now all of a sudden? It's all good though. It only takes a week to form a habit, and I've only been a no-parties-stay-home-at-night-and-turn-in-early kind of guy for three evenings now. It's not too late. I can still have a life. There's still hope for me.

"There's got to be something around here for you to do." I said, standing up and departing from my tranquil, once quiet chair. Sonny staying home alone with nothing to do was a last resort for me. I didn't know what I expected exactly, but I know for sure that I didn't trust her. What if someone else stopped by and she tried to turn them against me, too? What if it was somebody important, and she wormed her way back into the hearts of the people of Hollywood, just like she did with Tawni? What if all of the work I put into getting her _out _was in vein? I know Sonny. Or, Allison. What ever name, the fact remains, that she _hates _it when people interrupt her work. If she was, say, washing the dishes, and someone knocked on the door, she'd shoo them away in a rush to get back to what she was doing. However, if she had nothing to do but relax…well…

You know what they say about idle hands.

I walked out of the library (which I only entered when I was either bored out of my mind or avoid something or someone) with a purpose. Each and every step signaled to Sonny who was trailing behind me that I was definitely on a mission. I looked around the spotless living room, desperate to find a speck of dirt somewhere. "Chad, do you not trust my work or something?"

I raised from off of my knees where I was inspecting every inch of the carpet, and sprinted into the kitchen, only to find it just as the living room. Sparkling freaking clean.

"Bet you didn't vacuum the whole second floor!" I exclaimed, and raced up the stairs. Which, by the way, were free of lint, to my dismay.

I looked frantically around my blue-carpeted hallway, jumping around like a maniac. I purposely gave her a list of at least one hundred things to do for the day. She had to take some sort of shortcut. And I was going to find it. I must have spent the next half an hour or so running around my gigantic house, searching in every room for something that needs to be done. She couldn't have possibly done _everything_, right?

I finally hung my shoulders low in defeat. "How did you do it?" I inquired.

"Did what?" Sonny's perky voice asked from behind me. Her tone was the chipper, beautiful sound that I had been craving to hear ever since she arrived as _Allison_. But now, it annoyed the hell out of me. It made me want to pounce. Scream. Go freaking crazy. Or, crazier than I had been going for a little while now. I turned around, and saw Sonny eye me up and down as if I had gone mentally insane. I was breathing heavily, and I was desperately trying to convey my frustration through my eyes. I grunted and pulled my hair madly.

"Should I…call a doctor?" Sonny asked, slowly backing away.

"No! You should just…stop cleaning so fast!" I screamed at her.

"So…I'm thinking I _should _call a doctor?"

"No. No. You know what you should do?" I started, running to the library where we first started. I glanced around the room spastically, and then ran to one of the book shelves. I took my arm, and knocked a row of thick books on the ground with a loud thud, which caused Sonny to jump.

"You should clean that up!" I yelled, and walked out of the room, completely stressed; leaving a very confused and startled Sonny behind.

* * *

Forget moody. Chad Dylan Cooper is freaking _insane_. Like really, what the crap? I bent down and scooped the scattered pile of books off of the floor, placing them carefully in random order on the now empty wooden book shelf. After scanning the floor, I noticed that only one book was left. The cover was a burgundy color, with bold black letters on it simply titled: **Mental Disorders**.

Something about these two words stuck out. Something told me I should take the meaning into consideration. And something told me that it had to do with Hollywood's hottest bachelor, Chad Dylan Cooper.

Suddenly, it all came together for me. I had seen it before. My uncle has the same condition Chad might have, and I have to deal with his ever-changing moods every freaking day. I opened the dusty book, and looked in the contents for the particular disorder I had in mind. Once I found it, I flipped to page 249, and studied the symptoms.

**_Inflated self-esteem _**

**_Unusual energy_**

**_Less need for sleep _**

**_Impulsiveness_**

**_Rapid change of extreme mood_**

It all made sense now. Chad Dylan Cooper and the words "inflated self-esteem" just go together like peanut and butter. Unusual energy would explain the jog around the house he had just finished, which would go along with impulsiveness. And why else would he always wake up super early in the morning just to lay around doing nothing? Well, that is when he's not running around the house like a crazy person.

**_*Call a doctor if you notice some of these symptoms in a family member or close friend. Note: Persons with bipolar disorder often deny anything is wrong, especially in the manic phase. If you are worried about a family member or close friend, a doctor can offer advice on how to handle the situation._**

I closed the book with concerned thoughts running through my head. Backstabbing, lying, evil, crazy, scary, pig-headed, loser ex-boyfriend or not, Chad was a person. A person with a medical condition that needed to be brought to his attention as soon as possible.

I stepped from outside of the library cautiously, careful not to set Chad off again. I eventually found him in the kitchen, his face resting in his hands.

"Chad," I started quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Can you…can you look at me, for just a second?" I asked.

He slowly raised his head from out of his palm, and looked me in the eyes. I was startled how magnet-like they were. I had been careful not to directly look into his bright blue eyes since I got here. Sure, I had slipped a few times, but never like this. Chad's eyes were powerful, yet deadly. Just like that giant snake on one of the Harry Potter movies, who could kill (or was it freeze?) people, just by making eye contact. I looked down, yanking myself out of my daze.

"Chad…I think you have bipolar disorder." I finally said confidently, even though I was fiddling nervously with the end of my sleeve.

I anxiously read his facial expression, searching for some sort of a response. Eventually, I got one. It just wasn't the kind I wanted. He bursted out with laughter, his blue eyes sealed shut as salt water poured from them. He was gripping his chest as if he was having a heart attack, although I knew he wasn't, thanks to his permanent smile. "It's not funny, Chad. This is serious."

His laughter died down a bit as he noticed the seriousness in my tone. "You…you really think…I'm bipolar?" he asked between breaths.

"Yes, and I really think you should see a doctor."

"Wow…Sonny…are you for real?"

"Yes. I am." I confirmed. He wiped his tears away, then stood up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Wow. Maybe you really _do _need a break." he stated.

"_I _need a break?" I scoffed. "You're the one running around this house like a maniac!'"

"So? I just…wanted exercise." he said, obviously making excuses for himself.

"It's okay, Chad." I comforted. "My…uncle, is bipolar." I shuddered when I referred to that…_man_.

"Wow. You have no room to talk, Sonshine. _You're _the one who probably has depression."

"Already diagnosed, Chad. A year ago." I informed him.

"So what you're trying to tell me is, _you_, a girl who was diagnosed with a mental disorder, is accusing _me_, a perfectly stable person, of having one, too? You've been around your crazy family too much. Not _everyone _is mentally insane," he said. "I bet your entire family is sick. You probably get it from your mom. I remember how paranoid she used to act. She's why you're all fucked up."

The only thing holding me together through the past few days snapped within me. My conscience simply faded away. If I wasn't going to kill Chad, I was definitely going to hurt him. I felt like my spirit was snatched from my body, as I watched myself impulsively walk up to Chad and slap him as hard as I possibly could. "Asshole." I muttered.

Chad held his red, stinging cheek. I could see a tiny bit of tears involuntarily wet his eyes from the intense pain I hope I caused. My satisfied smirk faded away as my spirit slipped back into my angry body. I shuddered at his intense, hateful blue eyes. I tried backing away, hoping I could make a run for it, but he grabbed my arm before I was free.

He held me close to his body, glaring at me with intense fury. I tried to make my eyes appear as tough as possible, but I could feel the terror in them. "I'm not going to hit you back," he said. I hadn't even considered that he would. I knew he would never go that far. But still, I felt pain coming from my wrist, which he was squeezing tightly. "I don't know what I'm going to do. But I do know that I'm way too pissed at you right now to look at your hideous face any longer." he sneered, his eyes narrowing at me.

"I'm going out." he eventually said, releasing my arm from his cold grasp. I followed him to the door, strangely not wanting him to leave.

"I'll be back by dinner. I don't know what I want to eat. Surprise me. Watch some TV or something while I'm gone. Bye." was all he said, not even looking at me. He slammed the door, causing the figurines and plants around it to shake, along with me.

_At least I finally got to slap him._


	13. Unfulfilled Wait

The pale green bowl of half-eaten casserole rest on the center of the wooden table in the dimly lit kitchen. It was a little after one o' clock in the morning now, and there was still no sign of Chad. I attempted to distract myself countless times with TV and books, but I couldn't pay attention to either. It was foolish of me to be worried about him. He was a big boy. He could take care of himself. But he did promise me that he would be back by dinner, and it is obviously _way _past dinner. I stifled a yawn, trying to will myself to stay awake. I wanted to be wide awake when Chad got back, so I could have some peace of mind before drifting off to sleep. Unfortunately, I had no idea when that would happen. I had half a mind to dig through Chad's phonebook and call Tawni to see if she knew anything, but I supposed Chad would be angry with me if I did that. I had no choice but to wait on the couch, struggling to reason with myself. Why should I care where he is? I shouldn't be waiting up. I should be _sleeping_. I should be putting myself first, not him. He never did the same for me. But I guess, in a way, I felt like I owed him for all of the times he worried about me while we were dating. Or…pretended too. Either way, it made me feel cared for, and even jerks deserved to feel that, too. Right?

I picked up the dark colored remote and began flipping channels. Nothing was catching my attention, since my mind was completely somewhere else. That is, until, I landed on one of those utterly idiotic Hollywood gossip shows. The brunette lady with the microphone was surrounded by screaming adolescent girls. The camera only revealed half of whatever celebrity was to her right. "I am currently standing here, next to a _very_ missed Hollywood heart throb." the fan-girls screamed louder. "So, Hayden Spencer, tell us about your new movie!" the camera panned to the right, showing none other than _my _Hayden.

He looked so incredibly different. I had to focus just to verify that he was the same person. His brown eyes were now green, obviously due to color contacts. We used to have our dark hair in common, but now it was a light brown, which was a shocking contrast to his dark, tanned skin.

"Well, basically, it's about this girl, Jessica, who loses her family in a tragic accident that pretty much scars her. I play the best friend, Ryan, who she eventually falls in love with. It sounds boring and cliché, but there are all sorts of twists in between that I'm not allowed to mention. You guys will just have to see the movie to find out." he explained smoothly and confidently.

"Did you find your character easy to portray?" she asked, holding the microphone back to his mouth.

He smiled. "Actually, it was. I found that Ryan and I had a lot in common. We both have enough patience to stand by and wait for the girl we love to love us back. And…I could relate to the pain he went through while the girl he loved was suffering." he said, blushing. The girls behind him sighed, and one curvy red-headed girl even held up her **"I Love Hayden" **sign as high as she possibly could reach. Hayden noticed it, and turned his body around to face her. "I love you too." he said, winked at her, blew a silly kiss, and laughed, The interview lady was grinning ear to ear, while the girl looked like she was about to faint. I couldn't help but compare Hayden to Chad. I know that it would have just gone straight to Chad's ego, blowing it up even more until his head eventually exploded. It was nice to know that Hayden still had his amazing sense of humor.

"So how were the living conditions during filming?"

"Well, the whole movie takes place in a secluded area. They live in a very small town, and their houses are actually right outside of it. There were no hotels nearby, so we had to sleep in the woods. Everyone else had a problem with it, but I've been used to camping. I used to do it all the time before I moved here. It brought back a lot of memories." he smiled his gorgeous, sincere smile.

That's what I always admired about Hayden. He wasn't born into fame. He had a genuine fun life before he became "Hollywood's hottest heartthrob". He went to carnivals, skated, made crafts, everything that was innocent and amusing. "Oh, you're just so down to earth!" the lady gushed, obviously reading my mind. Hayden blushed a bit, and then the camera focused on the interviewer again. "This has been Juliana Hoffman with Hayden Spencer! Now back to you, Santiago." she nodded, and then the screen jumped to an aged and bald Santiago Heraldo.

I turned off the television after hearing Santiago go on and on about a drug addicted Portlyn on her new reality series, before I started getting majorly bummed out about my lack of career and amazing life.

I suddenly heard a burst of giggling along with the squeak of the door. "Oh, Chaddy, you're so funny." a girl's voice cooed.

I raised up from the couch and marched over to the source of the noise with a purpose.

And there he was. A mischievous, yet happy smile spread across his face, stumbling over some stick-thin bleach blonde. I felt a wave of nausea swim through me as I looked the girl up and down. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one blemish on her. She met my judging eyes and glared at me, then faced Chad again. "Who's the loser with the bad makeup job staring at me?" she whispered, even though she knew I could hear her.

"Oh, that's just the maid." he brushed her comment off.

No way was I going to let her insult me. If Chad wasn't going to defend me, then I'd defend myself. "Excuse me,_ I_ have a bad makeup job? You're the one who looks like a clown." I pointed out. She resembled Barbie, with her painted face and clothes that were obviously chosen by a six year old. She had on bright, neon green eyeshadow along with over-applied mascara. Her lips were a ruby red, and she had on _way _too much blush on. It reminded me of the time Tawni went without mirrors, therefore had no idea what she was doing to her face. Hooker Barbie also had on a tight bright yellow tank top, a green skirt that should be illegal, and light blue heels. Sadly enough, this was the common attire for Hollywood parties.

"Shut up, Sonny." Chad said sternly, his eyes intimidating me for a split seccond. Instead of getting sad like I normally do, I stood my ground. I originally thought that staying with Chad would bring down my self-esteem, but so far, it's been quite the opposite. Sure I faltered at first, but now for some reason...fighting back feels _right_.

"You have _no _right to tell me to shut up, Chad. I can say what ever the hell I want to!" I yelled, throwing my hands up.

"Wait…Sonny?" the girl said. Barbie's face scrunched up as if she was thinking of something.

"That's my name."

"Sonny…Sonny…" she tapped her chin.

"You sure picked a keeper, Chad." I commented sarcastically.

"Sonny, I said shut it."

"Sonny! That's it! I've got it!" Barbie exclaimed, a smile spreading across her artificial face.

"Got what?" Chad and I asked in unison, only to glare at each other seconds later.

"You're Sonny Munroe! From So Random! You're the one-show-wonder who was so bad at acting that you couldn't get another job after that lame kiddy comedy!" she giggled, slapping her knee at her recognition.

I stepped up closer to her. "Oh, you did _not _just-"

"Chantal, I'll meet you upstairs, 'kay?" Chad said, interrupting me. I folded my arms across my chest angrily as 'Chantal' turned her nose up at me and uttered a _humph _sound, then strutted up the stairs. Her hips swayed sharply with every step, which had Chad staring at her backside until she was out of sight.

"What is your problem?!" he shouted at me.

"What is _my _problem, what is _your _problem?!" I screamed back.

"What do you _mean _what is my problem, what is _your _problem?"

I saw we were getting nowhere, took a deep breath, and put myself back together. I thought over my wording carefully. "So I slave over a hot stove for you, _you_, who says you'll be back by dinner! And by the looks of it," I said, glancing over to the bizarre cat clock hanging on the wall. "It's way past dinner!"

"Slave over a hot stove? What are you, my wife? And so you take it out on Chantal?"

"Everything I said to her had _nothing _to do with you. She had _no _right to talk to me like that."

"You were way out of line." he said disapprovingly, and walked to the kitchen, away from me.

"Oh, _I _was out of line? How do you think I felt, worrying that you fell into a ditch or something, and then you come back with _her_!"

He opened the refrigerator, completely bypassing the casserole I made. "Jealous?" he smirked nonchalantly, glancing at a piece of cake inside.

"Jealous?"

"What?!" I exclaimed. "No! I'm _pissed_!"

"Because you're so jealous." he said, pointing at me accusingly.

"No, because you're such an ass!"

"But you want me to be _your _ass."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Does it not, Sonny, does it not _really_?"

"Stop confusing me!"

"Whatever, Sonny." he waved me off.

"Whatever? _Whatever? _You had me worried sick!"

"Sounds like you need a reality adjustment, then."

"What do you mean, Chad?" I asked dryly.

"I mean, you're not my mom. You're not my girlfriend. So mind your own business and let me live. Ever think I have better things to do than staying at home every freaking night? Do you think I'm some hermit?"

"No, I don't expect you to stay home all the time. I just thought you would have the courtesy to let me know you'll be late."

"Whatever. I've got a hotel heiress waiting for me upstairs, so…g'night." he said, beginning to walk up the stairs.

"You disgust me." I muttered.

Once there was no more Chad in sight, I sighed and walked back to the couch. No way was I sleeping in a room right next to Chad's while they did...who knows what. I tugged on a blanket from the arm of the sofa, and spread it softly across my body, covering every inch except for my head. I cushioned my angry, pounding thoughts with the comfort of knowing Hayden was still the nice, fun, sensitive guy as before. It was nice to know that this town wasn't _totally _full of fakes. And not just this town. Seeing Hayden gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, there are still good people in the world.

* * *

For some absurd, bizarre reason, Chantal being here with me felt wrong. And we haven't even done anything.

First, we were kissing. That was nice.

Then, we were making out. Even nicer.

Finally, the clothes started to disappear.

And that's when it went downhill.

For some reason, I didn't _want _a one night's stand. Yeah, at first I wanted to sleep with her just to spite Sonny.

Call me crazy, but deep down, I wanted something more.

Something more with _someone _more. Not a shallow rich girl.

And for some even stranger reason, I couldn't keep my mind off of the girl downstairs.

Not so much her, actually, but I couldn't help wonder, _was _she jealous?

And horribly enough, I was hoping she was. It wasn't because I liked her and wanted her to like me or anything. I just wanted her to be jealous so that she should regret passing me up for that Hayden loser.

Chantal snuggled up to me, attempting to be cute. "Hey, baby…" I felt myself cringe at the name she called me. Sonny used to call me that when we dated. Not seriously, but as a joke to mock the losers who used corny nicknames for their boyfriend/girlfriend like _hunny _or _sweetie pie_. And ever since we broke up, I never allowed any of my other girlfriends to call me that. Not that I'd let anyone know, but I was extremely superstitious. In fact, if one of my girlfriend's forgot that they weren't supposed to call me that, I'd immediately dump them. It was like breaking a mirror to me. Pure bad luck in the relationship. Now, I've learned to ignore it; that is unless I want to be single for the rest of my life.

"Hmm?" I asked absentmindedly, staring straight ahead.

"Wanna…" she kissed my cheek and gazed at me seductively. I didn't need words to figure out what she was implying.

"No."

"What? No?" she asked incomprehensibly.

"That's right, no."

She sat up straight, glaring at me. "Are you saying you _don't _wanna sleep with me?"

"Exactly."

"You can't be serious."

"Sorry, I just don't…feel like it tonight.

"What the hell? You're a _guy! _You're supposed to always feel like it!" God, she was so desperate. "Just…buy a vibrator or something," I suggested. "I'm tired." I said, turning on my side to face the wall. "Whatever, Chad. Just...call me or something."

"Sure."

She stared at me cautiously, expecting me to change my mind. When she realized I wasn't budging, she angrily snatched her tank top from off of my bed and walked out of the room; leaving me to drown in my own loneliness.

What the hell did I do that for? I was such an idiot. I was doing so well all day. Sonny snapping at me was a blessing in disguise. It gave me the inspiration to go and have a life.

Rule #9.

Unfortunately, I wasn't finding anything. Sure I came across some pretty girls, along with some decently decent resturaunts, but nothing satisfied me. As a last resort, I went to _Boost_, the newest, hottest night club that opened. After five minutes inside, I realized that it was definitely not worth the hype. I'm Chad Dylan Cooper, after all, and I've been to my fair share of clubs. Especially now that I've reached the legal drinking age. After a long day, I decided to just humor the first girl who threw herself at me. I sound like a whore, I know, but it felt justifying to me. And now I threw her out? I'm not bipolar, but I definitely have a hard time making up my mind.

* * *

**I personally think this chapter could have been better. I've just been so overwhelmed lately. Not in terms of school work, but friends...and boys. I've sort of got a reputation for being a stalker now haha. That's what I get for telling my friends about the hot guys I kinda sorta stalk on facebook. And now said guys know and they tease me about it. It's quite rude. But it's fun, too. **

**Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Could've been better, or did you actually like it? What did you guys want to happen in this chapter instead of what did?**

**I'd just like feedback on it, good or bad. Then I can get an idea of how I should shape the next chapter. Thanks.**


	14. Attack Of The Q's Without The A's

**Whoa, it's only been almost seven days since I last updated? It feels like an eternity. I wanted to have this up much sooner, but I've been completely busy. My nieces are over for the next few days, one of my closest friends have been having a health-related crisis, AND I've been reading non-stop [got 13 books for my birthday]. But, as my family was playing Wii, I decided to write this. Totally didn't expect to actually be finished tonight!!**

**As I said on the last oneshot I posted, I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas. **

**I put in a few lines from one of Demi Lovato's songs. Let's see who knows which one?**

* * *

Six days. Six days since Chad dragged me from my depressive home, and yanked me into the world where I was long forgotten. Five days. Five days of me playing the part of Chad Dylan Cooper's _maid_. I spoke to him spitefully because of the Chantal incident, and he responded with equal amount of hatred. The tension between us was getting worse. I'm just surprised I hadn't snapped and murdered him yet. The only thing that was keeping me going was the thought of my mother, lying in that hospital bed of hers, alone and suffering. So, Chad and I kept continuously spitting fire back and forth. When I asked him if I should be making breakfast for Chantal also the other morning, he just glared at me. I had already seen her sneaking out the night before a little after two in the freaking morning. Guess that's all Chad wanted out of her. A booty call, then he just pushed out of his life. He was done with her now. Just tossed to the side like some trash. She deserved better.

Okay, _maybe_ I'm not exactly thinking about Chantal right now. I know that a girl like her is very, _very _used to one night stands. It's probably an evening to evening thing for her. But what about respect for other girls? Like, say, me? What if I hadn't seen Chad talking to his friends about that bet? Would we have stayed together longer? Would he have given up on it, on me? Would he break up with me when he realized I wasn't going to give it up? Or what if I kept the state of mind I was in when I went to find him, after he stormed out of his room? What if that night, I slept with him? Would the result be inevitable, regardless if I waited a few minutes, to either think my decision over or find him? What if Portlyn told me he went outside when he was really in the kitchen, just to be mean? Would Chad still have gotten So Random canceled? Would he continue trying to get me in bed? Would I pick up on it and confront him? What if I went straight to Tawni about it? Would we still be friends? Would the rivalry between So Random and Mackenzie Falls get worse, or would they think Chad was a pig-headed idiot and disown him? Would my mom be cured by now? Would I be here, or in Paris filming some glamorous movie?

None of that mattered though. I was just wasting my time pondering over the _what if'_s. Because no matter what could've maybe possibly happened in the past, the fact remains that I'm here, trying on this new maid outfit that Chad bought. Which meant only one thing: it was Party Night's Eve.

Chad angrily shoved the outfit at me, obviously still pissed at me for being a just a _tad_ bit unreasonable all day. I couldn't help it. I was angry with him, and I had a right to be. Not only had he inconsiderately stayed out, having me worried sick, and then accused me of being jealous of him when I expressed how horrible that was of him. Because of course, in Chad Dylan Cooper's world, everyone who was upset with him just _had _to be jealous. There was no other explanation. He was like those idiot fan girls of teenage celebrities. When someone would say that they weren't a fan of the person, ten girls would attack them screaming, "You're just jealous."

Actually, now that I think about it, Chad and tween fan girls have a whole _lot _in common.

Okay, maybe I was just a little bit jealous seeing him with _her. _Or, okay, maybe that's an understatement. Maybe I wanted to tear her hair out as soon as I saw his arm around her. Maybe I wanted to be the one in his bedroom. Maybe I wanted to be the one having a crazy night on the town with him. Maybe I wanted to be the one to kiss him…and more. And maybe I wanted to be the one who he could be around without having a fight with.

But so what?

My jealousy repressed a tiny bit when I saw how he only looked at her like a piece of meat. And her leaving in the middle of the night proved to me, that Chad Dylan Cooper was a guy who wanted nothing out of girls but sex. And that was no guy worth pining over.

"Hurry it up, Sonshine." Chad grumbled through the door.

"Make me." I mumbled, knowing he couldn't hear me. I forcefully slipped on the black and white dress, black stockings, and jet black open toe heels. The dress had a triangular shape to the skirt which fanned out a tad, and white lace around the collar. I rubbed my thumb against the soft fabric as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. The dress came a few inches above my knee, not an inch below my thigh like the last dress. This was much more classy, and actually a little bit cute. You know, in a maid sort of way.

And, best of all, it was long-sleeved. It actually came right below my palms, hiding all of my shameful scars.

"Sonny, I said hurry!" Chad shouted. I rolled my eyes. "Coming." I said.

Opening the door, I gave Chad a grim look. "I'm not wearing the hat." I stated dryly, giving him a grim look, and holding the white pointy hat that reminded me of a milk carton out. "I think I like you better without it." he agreed, licking his lips. "Good." I said, handing it to him. My first intent was to just be difficult by not wanting to wear it, but then when I tried it on, I nearly threw up. It was beyond hideous.

"You should go to sleep." he said, not bothering to hide the fact that he was scanning my legs. "We have a _long _day tomorrow."

"Whatever. Goodnight." I said curtly and went back into my room. I knew he wanted to give me another there's-a-party-tomorrow-night-so-be-on-your-best-behavior lecture, and I didn't want to hear it. It's like he thinks I'm some out of control girl who will start acting wild when they're with a crowd of people. After the fifth or so speech, I desperately wanted to say, _I'm not Chantal_. _I have some class_, but decided it would be best to keep my mouth shut. After all, every time I tried to correct him or generate a comeback, he would just misinterpret it and make me sound utterly stupid. Every freaking time, my message never got through to him. I felt like I was screaming with my mouth shut, when it was really open.

"Wait, Sonny." Chad stopped me before I could slam the door in his face. "What?" I spat.

"I…" I raised my eyebrows expectantly at him. "I…I…"

Putting my hands on my hips, I sighed. "Just spit it out, Chad."

"I'm…" he started again, putting his hands nervously in his pocket. "I'm sorry."

I gaped at him. He's _sorry_?

Psh, about time.

After hearing the words I had been desperately yearning for for three years straight, I was speechless. I wanted to melt into his arms and cry into his shoulder, and tell him that I forgive him. But then, I realized, he couldn't be sorry about the bet. He probably still didn't even know that I know. About getting So Random! canceled? Maybe. About blacklisting me? Doubt it. About completely ditching me? Forgetting about me? Not caring about me? Whisking me away, as if I was some bad smell that needed to vanish?

"Y-You're sorry? F…For what?" I managed to get out.

"Not coming home on time last night." he said, looking up at me with those deep, apologetic, and sincere blue eyes. "It was really insensitive, and thoughtless, and rude, and impolite, and selfish. And honestly, I'm flattered that you were worrying about me." I struggled to resist my blush. I loved this part of him. This thoughtful and generous person who knew when he was wrong and knew when to apologize for it. It was moments like these that made me think he wasn't a bitter, cocky, egocentric rich dude. And I hated that. It made me let my guard down. It forced me adore him, yet again. Just when I thought that I was finally getting over him.

"Well…thanks, Chad. That means a lot to me." I said shyly. "And I guess I'm sorry for slapping you yesterday." What the crap brought that on? I prided myself in getting back at him. I loved how I showed him that I wasn't going to take his insults lying down. But I had already said it, and there was no taking it back now. Chad smiled at me. "And I'm sorry I said that about you, your family, and your mother. I know moms are a sensitive subject. I know you were just trying to help."

I gazed gratefully at him. Fiddling with the hem of my dress, I decided to elaborate on the subject of my mom. I knew it was safe. For now, at least. Trying not to cry, I chose my words. "You know, what you said about my mom bothered me a lot because she's in-"

_We flyin' first class up in the sky_

_We flyin' first class, livin' the life_

_In the fast lane and I won't change_

_By the glamorous, ooh, the flossy, flossy_

"Hold that thought." Chad stopped me, holding out his right palm while he fished his phone out of his pocket with the other. "Hey, Tawni." Chad said vibrantly. I felt a pinch of jealousy about how his eyes lit up when he said her name, but then remembered Chantal. No way they could be dating if he just slept with Chantal last night. Unless, he was cheating on her.

Oh no. I had to get to the bottom of this, ASAP.

"Um, tell Tawni I say hi?" I blurted nervously, but it ended up sounding like a question. Chad hesitantly nodded. _Yeah, sure_, he mouthed to me. "Tawni? Yeah, um, Sonny says hi." he said cautiously. Suddenly, I heard a burst of a _very _high pitched and excited voice from the other side. After a few seconds, Chad said to me, "She says hey back."

"That's an understatement!" I heard Tawni's muffled voice exclaim on the other line. "Tell her we'll talk tomorrow." I heard her say.

Chad was about to repeat the sentence, but I stopped him. "I heard her."

Chad flashed me a thumbs up, then started happily pacing as he talked. He reminded me of how when I was around thirteen, and on the phone with my friends for hours, I would constantly be pacing around the hallway with the phone glued to my face.

"You know, I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tomorrow." he said. "So everything's set?"

I leaned against the wall as he went over the party plans for the next night with Tawni. Apparently, we were going to have live entertainment of many sorts, fancy food, and nearly all of Hollywood's elite. "Yup. Okay, alright, bye." he hung up, and turned back to face me.

"Sorry about that." he apologized.

"It's no problem. I guess I should go to bed now, huh?" I offered, rubbing my upper shoulder.

"Yeah, and I should too. We all know that CDC needs his beauty rest." he said, pulling on his golden hair. "But, I just wanted to let you know, Sonny, that I want us to be friends, of a sort. I mean, I'm still your boss and everything, but…I don't want us to be so hostile."

I nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Let's start fresh. And forget about all of this tension." I stuck out my hands.

"Sort-of-kind-of-friendship?"

"Sort-of-kind-of-friendship." he repeated, shaking my hand.

This was the Chad I agreed to hanging out with that day after work, four years ago, when he shyly approached me with a bright yellow rose and asked if I could help him babysit his niece. I found out afterwards that he just asked me to help because he wanted to spend time with me, and keep him company. And, most importantly, to officially ask me out. After a long day of chasing around Bratty Cooper, her finally admitted his feelings to me, and I did to him as well.

Was that a lie, too?

Or did James and Skyler come up with the whole awful bet afterwards?

Because, honestly, why would he date me for a whopping twelve months, if it was just to get me in bed and get some extra money? Wouldn't he quit after a week? Although Chad was impatient, he was also extremely competitive. But the way he looked at me that night when Brianna, his niece, was in bed…right before he told me he liked me (a lot)…that just couldn't be faked. Right? I mean, yeah I'd see him look longingly at the girls on Mackenzie Falls, but the real thing was just incredibly. Amazing. Special. Astonishing.

And it was all for me.

Or was it?

Suddenly, I noticed that my hand was still in his. I awkwardly looked up to meet his eyes, and pulled away. Why hadn't he let go yet?

So many questions, with a desperate need to be answered. It felt like my life was constantly full of lies, faking, and wonder.

"Night, Cooper."

"Night, Munroe."

I gave him a small smile before walking all the way in my room, and softly shutting the door. After I shed my clothes and slid on my silky dark pajamas, I turned off the lights and rested my head on the cloud-like pillow. So many elements of my life unanswered, but one thing was for sure: Tomorrow is going to be _very_ interesting.


	15. PreParty Awkwardness

**For the song in the last chapter, it was my fault that none of you got it. I forgot to put in two lines, that would have probably helped:**

**_"How long can you kick somebody down before a foot breaks?"_**

**and**

**_"Why can't I get through the night without another fight?"_**

**The song was Open, from Demi's demo CD. It is by _no _means a well known song, haha.**

**I was going to go ahead and write the party chapter, but this just came to me so I decided to just save the _real _drama for the next chapter. This is a bit of a filler, but I like it.**

* * *

"_No that is _not _okay! Do you know who I am? I'm Chad Dylan effing Cooper!"_

"_Yeah, well, that just doesn't cut it!"_

"_Consider yourself uninvited, loser."_

Chad's constant screaming at whoever he was talking to (I'm assuming on the phone, since I never heard a reply. But who knows, maybe he's talking to his imaginary friend or something) caused my eyes to involuntarily shoot wide open, disturbing me from my surprisingly peaceful sleep. Usually, I was constantly haunted and harassed by my nightmares. On the upside however, he who shall not be named has not been included. They mainly consisted of thoughts of my mother, that I have pushed to the back of my mind every day. The unthinkable refused to leave me alone. When I think about it that way, I was extremely grateful for being abruptly woken up. Who knows what kind of disturbing dreams could have creeped up on me.

After jumping when I heard another burst of an angry Chad, I rolled my eyes and decided to head downstairs to see what was up. After a good five minutes, I looked semi-decent. I still had on my pajamas, but hey, at least my breath didn't smell like crap and my hair was a bit tamed. I glanced at the clock before I left the room, and noticed that it was ten o' clock in the morning. It wasn't like Chad to not have woken me up already, even if we _did _have some sort of a truce. I wondered exactly how much nicer he was going to be torwards me.

I anxiously power-walked down the stairs (I am _so _not gonna risk running down the stairs and falling again) to be greeted by a red-faced Chad, and a zoned out Tawni. I was about to ask them what was going on, but Tawni looked up from her ever attention grabbing nail filing and saw me. "Oh, hey, Son…I mean, Allison. Or can I call you Alli?" she asked, pressing her sparkly lime green nail filer to her chin.

"No." I said sternly, holding the banister.

"Then what about Son? I mean, doesn't that work? It's kinda like Sonny…but it's the end of Alli_son_, too."

"That's how my friends and family came up with the name Sonny…" I told her slowly. Her mouth made an _O _shape, and then she started to speak again. "Well, what about-"

"Tawni, will you shut _up_?!" Chad demanded, lifting his head from his hands. Tawni glared at him, but stopped talking anyway. I hesitantly walked further into the room. "What's going on, anyway?" I finally asked.

"Chad's stressing because of lack of alcohol." Tawni briefly explained.

"That makes me sound like an alcoholic. It's for the party." Chad clarified, clearly for my benefit. "I hired a guy who was supposed to bring tons of _every _kind here, but he forgot the beer! My bar is empty from the last party I had. I'm not really the kind of guy who drinks by himself, so usually I only drink when I'm out. And it's not gonna be like some college party where the guests bring a keg or anything. That's not classy. So he came here, and then said, 'oh, I forgot the beer' like it was no big deal!" Chad ranted, burying his head in his hands once again. His voice dropped a few octaves and produced a hillbilly accent when he imitated Beer Guy. Tawni stood up and awkwardly patted his back.

"I'd go run out and get some, but I've got to stay here with the dancers and show the DJ where to set up…" Tawni trailed off.

"But I've got to stay here and go over last minute details…" Chad said.

"Didn't you do that like ten times already?"

"Yeah, but you can never be sure."

"Can't you take a teensy bit of time off and run out and get it?"

"No, but _you _can, right?"

"No, Chad, I just explained that I have to stay here to-"

"Guys!" I interrupted. "I can get it." I volunteered, raising my right hand.

They both turned torwards me, Chad with a surprised expression. "Really?"

"Really." I confirmed. "Unless I have some work to do, Chad?"

He thought for a minute. "Well, the main room needs some maintenance, and the downstairs bathroom, but that's about it. I guess you have some extra time to run out, but make it quick. You sure you want to do that, Sonny?"

"Hey, how come he gets to call you Sonny?!" Tawni protested.

"Yeah, Chad, sure," I told him, ignoring Tawni's pleas. "I mean, what are friends for, right?" I offered a small smile. "I'll just go upstairs and…clean myself up a bit, then I'll go out. Give me twenty minutes?" I asked.

"Sure." he smiled gratefully at me. "No problem. Thanks, Sonny. This takes a big load off."

Tawni gave me a knowing smirk, as if she knew I was going to go get it anyway.

I melted a little at Chad's shocking…friendliness and manners, and was unable to hold back a grin. I hadn't found him _this _attractive in a very, _very _long time. Before it could get any worse, I waved goodbye and ran up the steps.

I laid out my clothes while the shower water was warming up. Since I was going out, I wanted to make myself look...okay. I mean, I know it's completely uncharacteristic of me to care about my looks now a days, but something about being back in Hollywood brought out the need in me not to look…well, gothic. I selected dark purple skinny jeans, a violet t-shirt, a black baseball cap, and a black sweat jacket to go over the shorter shirt. Basically, I would look like a celebrity going out in public with a desperate need of a cheeseburger, not wanting to get their picture plastered all across America.

My time in the shower was the most peaceful time I've had in…I can't remember when. The warm water massaged my back, and relieved me of my bottled up tension. I never wanted to get out, but I remembered I still had to blow dry my hair and get dressed, and I promised Chad I'd be ready in twenty minutes. And for some reason, I felt as if I would be extremely disappointed in myself if I let him down. Wrapping myself in a soft white towel, I left my steamy bathroom, and back to my bedroom. Let's see, should I wear wedges or flats? I better go with flats, just in case I decide to be clumsy today. I mean, I kinda stepped out of the shoes a few times when I tried them on, but it's not that big of a-

"Oh, oh my God!" Chad screeched. Chad?!

I halted, dead in my tracks, and gaped, mouth wide open, at my predicament. Strangely enough, Chad wasn't ogling me. And he wasn't teasing me, hinting that I should open up my towel and show him more or anything pervy and Chad-like like that. He actually looked to be in as much shock as I was, and then covered his eyes. I had always assumed that the way he would stare at me when I had on those "special" clothes, was to piss me off. He knew I always hated being looked at, and thought of as hot. He called me it all the time when we were dating, but I was under the foolish impression that he loved me, so it was okay for him to say I was hot, because he obviously didn't just date me for my body.

Oh, how naïve I was.

"Um, sorry." Chad mumbled, half of his face still covered by his hand. "I just wanted to see if you were ready…change of plans, and you need to be home earlier than I anticipated…and I knocked…but you didn't answer…so I was scared that you passed out or something. I mean, you barely ate yesterday, and you haven't eaten yet today…"

"Chad, I just woke up."

"Oh. But, well, still, you never know. I was worried, okay?" he said. He was worried? As in, concerned? As in, care? About me? _For _me? "So, um, hurry down, okay?"

"Okay." I said calmly, even though I was freaking out on the inside. Why did Chad always have to get my hopes up? He would just end up crushing me by the end of the day. I just know it.

"Okay, good." he said, smiling satisfactorily. He awkwardly shuffled out of the room, his hand still covering his eyes. I couldn't help but let out a giggle at how uncomfortable he was. "Oh, no, Chad, a little to the lef-" I tried to warn him, but it was too late. His forehead banged into the frame of the door. Ouch. "I'm okay." he squeaked.

After he was gone, I attempted to block out my majorly embarrassing situation by turning on a ten year old radio I found the day before, hidden in the back of the closet. I turned to my favorite station, and let the booming rock music clear my mind. _Be ready in two songs, _I told myself. Wouldn't want Chad to have to come back up. Or worse, Tawni. I shuddered as I imagined her sharp, manicured nails digging into my vulnerable skin. Even a few extra minutes of relaxation wasn't worth either of those two results.

One All Time Low and one Flyleaf later, I was dressed, dry, and…not ready to take on the world, but close enough.

When I got downstairs, the mood had changed completely. Tawni was now on the phone instead of Chad, and she wasn't screaming into it. Chad had his phone in his hands too, but he was texting. Most likely his close friends about the party. I wondered who his close friends were now. When we were dating, it was mainly the Mackenzie Falls cast and a few extra ultra-famous people. After all, Chad Dylan Cooper could _not _be seen with people lower than him. An internal light bulb should have gone off for me because of that. Sure, personality wise, I considered myself to be above him. But that's not what he took into consideration. For him, it was a matter of fame and fortune. Both of which, I had little.

"So, whose car am I taking?" I asked, walking further into the living room. Chad and Tawni's blonde heads shot up at the exact same moment, looking up at me. At a first glance, they looked exactly the same, except for Chad's face still bright red, most likely out of embarassment for walking in on me. I remember, before, I thought of them as twins. With their light colored hair, and their obnoxious attitudes. Which is another perfect reason why I pray they aren't dating. I mean, first of all, you shouldn't date your best friend's ex's…even though she already did that…and we're not best friends anymore…but still. And if they dated, it'd be like twins dating each other. Can you say incest?

"Don't touch my baby!" Chad screeched, with the most frightened look in his eyes I've ever seen. Tawni rolled her eyes. "Freak," she muttered. "Here, take my car," she said to me, tossing her shiny silver keys. I expertly caught them by cupping my hands. Chad's startled face slowly faded into relaxation again, and he leaned back into his chair. "So where exactly am I going?"

"Oh, right!" Chad exclaimed. "Directions. I'll text them to you."

"Text? Why not just write it down and hand it to me?"

Chad chuckled. "That's stupid."

I had a feeling pen and paper would soon fade into extinction.

A few seconds later, my phone beeped. Did he have super magic thumbs or something?

I yanked my phone out of my purse, and carefully, but quickly, read the address. "Hey, how did you get my number anyway?" I curiously inquired. "Sonny, think about it," he said, "I got your number the same way I got your address. Duh."

I opened my mouth to ask how exactly he got _that _in the first place, figuring the papparazzi never found out where I moved to, and there are hundreds of other Allison Monroe's, but I decided best not to. He would just give me a cryptic answer anyway.

I waved a quick goodbye after Chad handed me some money, and I headed out the door. As soon as I had a foot outside, I inhaled slightly, ready to bask in the warm California weather. When I first arrived here nearly a week ago, it was sunny, clear, and comfortably hot. Even the air smelled strangely fresh. Now, it was rainy, cloudy, foggy, and the thick smell of pollution and burnt tires returned. I didn't feel like going back inside to find an umbrella, since we were apparently on a tight time schedule and all, so I ran as fast as I could down the path, to Tawni's car.

Thankfully, the ride there went without incident. Tawni's tiny car rode smoothly, and the seats were mega comfortable. When I arrived at the liquor store, I was unsure of what to do first. I was never much of a drinker, even though I'm legal, therefore I had never set foot inside of a liquor store. Was I supposed to ask at the counter? No, that would look too amateur. Beer is a pretty popular drink, wouldn't it be like at the front of the store or something?

I eventually worked up enough courage, and walked inside. Surprisingly, the place didn't look sketchy at all. It was actually quite elegant in a way. This must be where all of the celebrities get their supply. As soon as I took my first glance around, I noticed a refrigerator. In said refrigerator, were bottles of beer.

Hallelujah.

How many should I get? I mean…it's gonna be a big party…I guess I should get…a lot? Say, twenty? Yeah, twenty sounds good. I managed to maneuver three glass bottles into my arms, and raced to the counter. "Be right back," I told the cashier, and ran back to the fridge to get three _more_. The cashier looked amused as the cycle continued. I practically threw the money at him, and sighed in relief as he was putting them all in a giant, strong looking, brown paper bag for me. I smiled gratefully at him, and showed him my I.D.

A few minutes later, I was back in the horrendous weather, trying to balance a bag in my arm that probably weighed more than I do. A creepy looking man was starting to approach me, so I walked faster to the car. He looked to be in his early forties, and had a hobo-ish look to him. How he carried himself reminded me a lot of my uncle. And by no means was that a good sign.

"Hey, ma'am, want me to help you with that?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine." I said, smiling at him politely.

"Oh, no. Wouldn't want a pretty lady like you to break her arms now, right?"

"Really, I'm okay." I insisted.

"You're not." he said forcefully, making me even more scared than I was before. I set the bag down on the ground and quickly fiddled with the keys. _Open, open, open,_ I willed it. Instead, its energy decided to go in the opposite direction, probably just to piss me off. My shoe slipped off, so I bent my knees to slide it back in. As I was doing that, my hand lost its grip on the keys, and they fell into a sea of mud. I nervously turned my head, to see if Mr. Creep was still there. He wasn't. He must have gone inside. I'm just paranoid.

Regardless, I desperately dove my hand inside of the oversized puddle, and dug for my keys. I felt sharp metal scratch my finger, and yanked them out. I spun my head around again, and saw the man get into his car. I stood up straight, and roughly inserted the key. I threw the bag inside, and jumped in my car, spinning my head around again, just in case. I saw Mr. Creep enter his car, and spastically started the engine. I raced back to Chad's as fast as I could, running every yellow light in sight.

I never thought I would be more thankful to see Chad's mansion. I had calmed down some, knowing Mr. Creep could _never_ get past those gates.

"Hey, you okay?" Chad asked, as soon as I was safely inside.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told him.

"You don't look fine." he observed. His face appeared to be concerned. He walked closer to me. "Did something happen?" he asked.

"No, not really." I lied. "The bag is in the car."

He looked at me for a second, hesitating to and get it. He stepped even closer to me, instead of walking around me to the door. In the blink of an eye, I was in his arms. He was squeezed me securely, and warmly, causing me to let out a helpless squeak. He released me, and then walked away without a second glance.

"W-What was that for?" I squealed.

He turned back around to me, and gave me his infamous smirk. "Looked like you needed one."

I felt myself smile at him, a little more than grateful. I needed that. "Hey," he added, "You better clean up and get dressed. The guests will be here before you know it."


	16. Losing Grip

**Forgot to say in my last chapter, Happy New Year!! **

**Hope Twenty Ten goes great for all of us.**

**And by the way, I haven't been watching that much TV lately. Yesterday, I was watching Disney Channel. I saw the commercial for the next episode of Sonny with a Chance, Falling for the Falls? I totally freaked out.**

**I was on the phone with one of my friends while it was happening, and I was seriously screaming into it. **

**I_'_m _totally _pumped. **

* * *

I'm insane. I'm messing up. My self control is withering away. Emotions are controlling me instead of my logic. And it's freaking killing me. I feel like such an idiot. I knew a truce between me and her would just cause problems. I don't know why I did it. I was supposed to be mad at her. I was supposed to be making her life hell. I wasn't supposed to be polite to her. I wasn't supposed to ask and see if her doing something I want was okay with her. I wasn't supposed to freak out when I saw her wrapped in a towel, and I sure as hell wasn't supposed to hug her when she looked frazzled. I was supposed to be taking advantage of her in every situation possible (Well, not _that_. I'm not some rapist). But so far, I was failing at it.

And yes, I did use the word _frazzled_.

I'm losing my mind. Going completely psycho. The steady road I've been on for what seems like all of my life just jerked to a random, candy covered street, that will swallow me up like _I'm _the candy. Bottom line, things were not going my way whatsoever. My emotions were similar to hormonal teenage girls. Happy, sad, vengeful, then under the impression that they're in love. That's me. A teenage girl. That's what my life has come to be compared to.

I wish I had told someone else about this plan. Someone to keep me on track, you know? Maybe I should have told James. After all, he was the one who helped me in the first place. Maybe it's not too late for him to help me again, before I get in too deep. But…sadly…I don't even know if I want to stop.

The cute little truce I spontaneously offered last night was the stupidest thing I could have done. If I kept us angry with each other, I wouldn't be in this predicament right now. But for some reason, I wanted us to let down our walls, just a tiny bit. I wanted us to be civilized torwards each other. But how was I supposed to make her rue the day (Yes, I _do _watch iCarly. Bite me.) if I was going around _huggin_g her?

And what predicament am I in, you ask?

The party is _perfect_. More ass-kicking than any event I've been to in my life, and that's saying a lot. We've got _everyone_. The entire A-List, most of the B-list, and a little of the C and D-list, just thrown in for good measure. The music is bumping, almost everyone is dancing and mingling except for the rare wallflowers, and I'm continuously being congratulated on how fantastic I am for hosting this. Mainly girls were the ones who approached me. Gorgeous girls. Sexy girls. Hot girls. Those girls, I could pretty much get to do whatever I wanted. But after the night with Chantal, I wasn't sure I wanted that. But get this. A pretty girl came up to me. She reminded me a bit of the old Sonny, with her bubbly personality. Her looks, however, were vastly different. Her eyes were a bright green, and she had dirty blonde hair. She had a bit of class to her, and seemed extremely nice. She wasn't the type of girl I would normally go for, but she was definitely the kind of girl that I would secretly like, and definitely have a steady relationship with. And she wasn't even flirting with me! We were having a normal, fun conversation. But when she subtly brought up that it would be a good idea for us to see more of each other, I wasn't paying attention.

No, I was too busy staring at the girl in the black outfit with white lace, shuffling around the room, trying to keep balance in her heels, carrying a platter of deviled eggs, looking incredibly cute. Mindy, the girl I was talking to, nudged me in attempt to get my attention.

"If you're not interested, it's okay, I understand," she had said to me. I was at a loss for words, my eyes still wanting to slide torwards the dark haired girl across the room. "I'll just go now," she said, sliding out of her chair and looking at me hesitantly. I stood up as well, put my hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes adoringly. A natural reflex from being on Mackenzie Falls for so long. "Don't be silly, I'm plenty interested!" I told her, trying to look appalled.

"Who wouldn't be interested in you?" I asked rhetorically. She looked as if she wasn't convinced yet.

"I mean, you have…pretty eyes, I mean, a leprechaun would be jealous of you! And, um, nice, clean ears, and eye lashes! They're like little, pretty spider legs! And…" I trailed off, trying to find a better way to flatter her. I couldn't find anything. All I could think about, was comparing her features to Sonny's.

_Nice ears? A leprechaun would be jealous of you? Spider legs? Really, me, really?_

I scanned her body, looking for another, more convincing compliment. My eyes landed on her pink blouse, showing a hint of cleavage. "I really like your shirt, too," I praised. She brightened a bit.

"You know, at first I was a little disappointed that you seemed to only like superficial qualities about me, but my grandmother made me this shirt. So what do you like about it?" she asked me.

Again, I didn't know what to say. What was I _supposed _to say? It was silk, and it was pink. What else was there to say about it? I stared at it, trying to come up with something quickly. "Um…" I thought, "I like the way it…accentuates…your chest?"

Apparently, that wasn't the right thing to say. She gasped, and began to walk away. "Wait!" I called out to her, "I didn't mean it like that!" I exclaimed. She turned around, and looked at me with her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face, making me gulp. Apparently, when I'm speechless, I say things a hormonal teenage boy hoping to "get some" would. "Um, you have really nice legs, too?"

She started walking torwards me, red cup in hand, looking very, _very _mean. "No, Sonny, I didn't mean it like that!" I accidentally said.

If she wasn't already mad at me for being a little _too _flirty, then she was definitely furious now for me calling her the wrong name.

And that's why I was now in my room, away from the party, washing Mindy's drink out of my hair, and finding a clean shirt to wear.

Sonny Monroe was seriously ruining my life.

* * *

_I'm your biggest fan,_

_I'll follow you until you love me_

_Papa, paparazzi_

The music thumped, making the whole room spin. I rolled my eyes at the young adults going down on each other in clear view, totally giving a completely new meaning to the term PDA. Yeah, sure, it was _just_ grinding. But trust me, at first glance, you'd think they were having sex. "Keep it in your pants!" I yelled to a twenty-something, scruffy looking man, who was air-slapping a girl's behind.

This party? Not fun.

So far, I've been laughed at, had stuff thrown at me, and my toe is probably flat by now because of all the careless people stepping on it. The scene was almost identical to the one three years ago, only the people looked slightly older, and I was, well, a server. Not a guest. And I wasn't there with Chad Dylan Cooper as my boyfriend. No, I'm here with Chad Dylan Cooper as my _boss._

Those were the physical changes.

Emotionally and mentally, I had a feeling that everything and every_one, _changed.

You think the gossip you read in magazines is juicy? Try being a place where all celebrities talk openly about their private lives, and let their _real _personalities show. It's like watching Reality TV. Only it's the stuff they _can't _show. The behind the scenes stuff. And let me tell you, it's unbelievably entertaining.

I lingered around the people I recognized most first. I'd just stand there with the silver tray, ask them if they want crab puffs (the deviled eggs were totally gone), they answer, and I oh-so-casually stand close to them, totally eavesdropping. I'm not gonna go spreading this around, but this is just too juicy to pass up: Hannah Montana? She's actually some brunette chick named Miley Stewart! Crazy, right?

That's how low I've sunk tonight. I'm bored out of my mind. But really, Hollywood gossip has helped me pass the time.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've been keeping a close eye on Chad the whole night. I don't know why.

He was talking to some gorgeous-at-second-sight girl, who seemed to actually have a personality.

AKA, my worst nightmare.

And they seemed to be getting along _really _well.

I'd have a hard time if he was kissing some bleach blonde Barbie who was more shallow than a kiddy pool. They'd be just a fling. They'd never last. But with a girl like that…they could have a relationship, for who knows how long? And that…that pretty much almost made me break down right there.

I was pulled to the side for a few minutes, when a drunk guy asked me where the nearest bathroom was. Ever try to give directions to a highly intoxicated dude? Not easy. Then, when he was gone, I lost Chad. I couldn't find him _anywhere. _Just like that, he vanished. At first, I thought he was with Girl in the Pink Shirt, but then I later saw her talking to one of the Jonas Brothers. It was hard to tell which one. Now that they were in their twenties, and had identical fros, they all kind of looked the same.

My eyes focused two blonde heads with their backs to me. I assume they were Tawni and Chad. Bored out of my mind, I decided to approach them. Maybe I could get Chad to let me have a few minutes break. When I was almost there, I roughly collided with someone, knocking the platter of food I was balancing to the ground.

Groaning, I bent down to pick up the crab puffs from the ground. I looked up at my attacker, who simply unapologetically shrugged, and walked off.

Thanks.

The food was uneatable now. Chad would accuse me of trying to poison his guests if I offered it to them. And it's been a good thirty seconds; _way _past the three second rule.

I turned my head to the right, making sure Chad and Tawni were still there to keep me company for a brief time. That's how lonely and bored I was. I was looking for _Tawni _and _Chad_. I thought of all the pain the put me through in the past few years of my life, and even before that. Tawni had backstabbed me quite a few times while I was on So Random. Even when we were best friends, I still had to watch my back around her 24/7. In result, while I was watching my back for sneaky, underhanded tactics, she was attacking my front in obvious, hurtful ways.

And now I was thinking of willingly hanging with them? They'd probably just push me away. I was just misreading things. Neither of them want anything to do with me. And if they do, it was for reasons I wasn't interested in.

Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed somebody bending down next to me. I cocked my head to the side to see who it was. He smiled at me, and picked up a _crap _puff off of the silver platter resting on the ground, and munched into it. I giggled. "You do know that I just picked that off the floor…right?" I asked him.

I giggled again as Chad gagged a little, but swallowed it anyway with a nonchalant smirk. "Yeah, I knew."

I shook my head at him. He was unbelievable.

Then, he did something even _more _unbelievable_._

He helped me pick up the discarded food.

"Thanks." I said to him when we were done. I held the platter in front of me with two hands. Looking around me, I decided it was now or never. Plus, he seemed to still be in a good mood.

"Um, hey, Chad?" I started nervously. He raised his eyebrows, signaling me to continue. "Could I have like…a twenty minute break?"

He seemed a little stress for a moment, but his expression soon faded into relaxation. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he muttered and looked defeated, as if he had just lost some sort of battle.

I jumped up and down with joy. "Thank you!" I squealed.

I thought about hugging him, but then decided against it. Way too awkward, and I'm not referring to the fact that I have a giant plate in my hand. So, I simply walked around him, beginning to determine where I was going to spend my time off. Stuck with a bunch of celebrities partying? No way. I could do that when I'm working. In my room? Maybe. Bathroom? Probably smells awful by now. I'll probably have to clean it later tonight. Outside? Bingo.

I knew, from my circling the room, there was another separate party going on in the backyard. If there were people out there, the weather must have gotten better. So…let's try the porch, shall we?

I was right. It was gorgeous out. The sun was just setting, and the clouds faded away from earlier, releasing a gorgeous view of the pink and orange sky. The air smelled fresh and like summer. I could feel the light vibration of the noise from inside, but it was overall quiet. Everybody was either inside, in the back yard, or in their cars parked at the side of the house. I was alone. And it was amazing.

Suddenly, I felt an arm snake around my waist, making me jump. This wasn't Chad, I could already feel it. The man bent down to whisper in my ear, causing me to tremble in discomfort. "Hey, Sonny." he breathed. I could feel him smirk against my neck.

I tried to shift my way out of his tight grip. "James," I snarled.


	17. A Half Step Forward, Three Steps Back

**WIEFOAW23RJWOAA;WO4TJA WIOEVA JWOEIFAWJ3ROEFJ82WOAEFZS.**

**See that right there? That is me being excited and pissed off.**

**I'm excited [that's an understatement] for the new Falling For The Falls SWAC episode. I had originally wanted to wait for it to come out, so I can be surprised, but then I just couldn't control myself any longer and I looked up the script.**

**One word: .**

**I might just love Disney now.**

**And why am I pissed off? Because of the new Disney Channel movie Starstruck. Like, Channy ripoff much? Only, Sterling Knight and the dude who plays Nico are _friends? _What the crap? And Chad would _never _be a popstar. EVER. I don't even care what his name is on that movie, I'm just gonna think of him as Chad. And I'm gonna be totally mad at him for cheating on Sonny.**

**I did that before too. Like you know the movie, I Love You Beth Cooper?**

**Yeah, I totally thought of Beth as Chad and Sonny's daughter the whole time.**

**Anyway, Disney is obviously trying to re-create a Channy couple, which just can't be done. The actress even looks a lot like Demi.**

**Not cool, TV. Not cool.**

**P.S: The disclaimer(s) in the earlier chapter of this story go for the _whole _thing. Every chapter before, and every chapter after. Just wanted to clarify that I am _not _under the impression that I own anything.**

* * *

I didn't need to see his face to know who he was. His obnoxious attitude was an automatic James Alert. So many thoughts were pelting through my mind, most of them contemplating which way I can murder him. My teeth chattered, something they did only when I was _very _worked up, and scared. Strangely enough, they kept quiet in the few days I was with Chad. Why were they choosing to make some noise _now? _I decided that I wanted to seem strong, confident, and pissed off. Not scared, vengeful, and on the verge of a horrible breakdown.

His arm was still wrapped around me, and my constant wiggling was doing nothing. I could scream, but was it really that bad? It's not like he was gonna hurt me or anything…well, physically, at least. Still, his hand was starting to move up and down now. This freaked me out more than the creepy guy from earlier. It's moments like these when I wish that I finished karate, instead of dropping out at a yellow belt. So, I had nothing to do but rely on my instinct. I shifted slightly so I could look up at him. He smirked smugly, and I smiled back sweetly. Then, I slowly lifted up my foot, pointed out my heel, and stomped down with as much force as I could muster, right on his toes. He let out a high pitched yelp, and immediately released me to focus his attention on hopping on one foot and holding his hopefully broken toes.

I watched in amusement as he growled at me. I rolled my eyes and started to walk away before he regained his composure. When I was only a few steps away, I felt him roughly grab the most sensitive spot on my wrist. It was as if he _knew _what was under the sleeves. A pang of intense tingling in my lower arm and pain from being grasped so tightly in my upper arm combined made me feel like my limb was being torn apart. "Oh, relax, Sonny. I was only joking before." he chuckled. I heard Zora's twelve year old voice in my head, warning me, _eviiiiiiiiiiil. _

I folded my arms over my chest in frustration.

"So, what are you doing here? I missed you, pal." he said, sounding scarily friendly.

"The feeling's not mutual, _pal._" I spat.

"Oh, Sonny, don't be so…sour."

"Sour? Really, James, really?" I said, not realizing that I was borrowing Chad's sarcasm. A bad sign. But I guess that's what happens when you live with a guy with such a…fascinating personality for almost a week. James smiled. "Which reminds me, what _are _you doing here at my buddy Chad's social gathering? No offense, but isn't this for…I don't know…people who have done with themselves?"

"What, you mean publicize their lives?"

"Touché, Sonny. Touché."

"Don't call me Sonny."

"Then what am I supposed to call you?"

"Allison. It's my _name._"

"Whatever." he waved it off. "You still didn't answer my question."

"And I don't plan to."

The way I saw it, he'd find out soon enough. Me working for Chad wasn't something I was exactly trying to hide; I just wasn't in the mood to be taunted.

"Oh come on, Sonny, don't be mean," James cooed.

"It's _Allison_." I stressed, trying to resist the growing urge to slap him. Instead of him answering, he just smirked yet again at me. I noted years ago, that Chad's smirk was much more alluring than James's.

I took advantage of the silence to subtly scan him up and down. He looked frighteningly the same. His dark hair was cut a little bit, and he had even more of a "bad boy" look to him than before, but that was about it. He was dressed in dark jeans and a navy blue t-shirt with an intriguing design on the collar. The ensemble was actually pretty preppy, but he somehow made it appear much darker. His lips seemed to be tugged into a permanent all-knowing smirk, as if he was holding juicy secret that placed him on the top of the world. He was undoubtedly cute, but his personality took away from that.

Why did I date him again?

I remembered the day we first met. When he was a guest star on Mackenzie Falls.

When he first saw me in the cafeteria, he threw twenty times the charm Chad possessed at me. And when he asked me out to a movie…well…how could I say no to that face?

And it went downhill from there.

Long story short: I went to a movie with Nico, and saw Tawni there. With James. They were making out in the back of the theater. There was a tiny scene caused. Names were called, feelings were hurt, and I felt extraordinarily betrayed.

Strangely enough, though, it made Tawni and I even closer. You know, after I finished going through that unsucessfully short period where I hated her guts (I was always a quick forgiver). And Chad…he helped me though it a lot. In fact, he and I even fake-dated for a little bit, just to make James jealous. That all ended with James being furious at me, and yanking me to the side while Chad was on his phone. He swore (in both senses of the word) he'd do anything in his power to make my life miserable.

Good times.

"So, how have you _been_?" James asked, but I figured he already knew the answer. I clenched my jaw. "Just _peachy_. How about you?" I answered, not really caring. He gave another sly smile. "Oh, just missing you." he said in a sweet tone, putting his arm around me. "It's _still _not mutual, James."

"Aww, that's too bad," he started, taking his arm from around my shoulder. He smoothly shuffled directly in front of me and leaned down a few inches to meet my height. I felt as if he was an adult bending down to talk to me, a five year old.

"You know, I feel like we left things a little…tensiony, you know?" he said softly, his union breath blowing directly under my nostrils.

"Yeah, and I liked it that way." I said, stepping back to get away from the awful stench. I tried to take another step, but I realized that I was up against a wall now. A dead end.

I was trapped.

He let out a dry, sarcastic laugh, and his face slowly fell into a menacing glare. "You know, you'd better watch your mouth around me, _Sonny. _You never know what could happen when I get mad."

I rolled my eyes at his attempt at being intimidating. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"No, it's a promise." he clarified smoothly. I held back a laugh, which was apparently visible to him. "Oh, you think that's funny?" he challenged. "Let's see if you think _this _is funny."

Unexpectedly, he grasped my left arm again, and tugged on it hard, nearly yanking it right out of its socket. "What are you _doing?!_" I demanded as he tried to drag me back inside. He actually growled in reply. "Let me go!" I screamed, trying with all of my might to walk the opposite direction.

"What's the problem here?" I heard a voice behind me ask. James and I simultaneously whipped our heads around to face my savior. I watched in shock as James dropped my arm, releasing the pain. I soothingly rubbed it up and down, while I stared wide-eyed at the man strutting torwards us.

It was Hayden.

And believe me, his appearance on TV just didn't do him justice.

"No problem at all. Just friends catching up." James lied, grinding his teeth together in annoyance. Hayden brushed his hair out of his eyes, then focused on my face. I wasn't quite sure if he recognized me. James turned from glaring at Hayden, to staring sharply at me. "I'll see you later, Sonny," he winked at me before stuffing his hands in his pocket, and walking confidently inside of the mansion.

Hayden lingered around me for what seemed like hours. The silence seemed to echo my pounding thoughts as he stood there in front of me, looking me up and down cautiously. "Did…did he say, Sonny?" he asked skeptically.

I nodded, a smile spreading across my face. "He did, and I am." I confirmed, grinning at him anxiously. He grinned back, spreading a warm feeling that pinched every inch of my skin. It was something I hadn't experienced in a while: the comforting feeling of friendship. And even though Hayden and I had barely said anything to each other so far, I knew the best was yet to come.

"Well, then, we have a _lot _of catching up to do," he said, placing his hand on the small of my back, and leading me inside to where the party is.

* * *

I can't believe how I'm behaving. I'm being such a wuss. A wimpy, wuss in fact.

A stupid, wimpy wuss.

Three words that currently describe me perfectly.

And I desperately need to change that.

Instead of bringing Sonny here giving me long awaited closure like I thought it would, it seemed to engrave her name into my brain instead. It's like, all of my thoughts are tuned to some sort of _Sonny FM _station. And it keeps playing the same song over and over again: _Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, Sonny. _

It's getting rather annoying.

All of the lights are off now. Within ten minutes, the party went from Elegant Fun, to Party Crazy. There are neon lights on the ceiling, twirling to make random patterns. They flashed off and on every second, creating mystery to the atmosphere. I can feel the electricity and energy bouncing off of every well-dressed (and barely-dressed) person in this room. Most of the people that were hanging outside came back in, except for the ones who wanted a private hookup or to sneak into my hot tub. That's right, Redhead In The Blue. I saw you. But honestly, I don't care. People can do whatever the hell they want. I don't give a damn.

But, unfortunately, that statement isn't completely true.

This party is easily the event of the _century_. The excitement, the drama, the friends, the fun…my life seems pretty amazing, right?

Wrong.

Okay, so right now, I'm dancing. With a girl, of course. I don't dance alone, or with dudes. Ever. But you know what's crazy? Every step is synchronized to the Sonny Music in my head, despite Katy Perry's voice echoing in the room.

_Sonny, Sonny, Sonny._

It's like she did some freaky voodoo ritual on me. I wouldn't be surprised if she did, actually.

Thankfully, I had a feeling that all of that was going to come to a stop. Things will change. I will finally be free. I will finally win.

"James!" I hollered when I saw my close-ish friend approach me. I excused quickly myself from the girl with the obvious fake hair, and met James half way.

Starting now.

"How was Paris?" I asked him, embracing him in what most people called a "bro hug".

"It was epic, dude. Hot girls, hot sights, hot girl sight_ings_, the works." he said, grinning from ear to ear deviously.

James had just spent the last year in France, with his new career as a male model. At first I thought the whole thing was pretty gay, but he had called me from time to time bragging about all the girls he hooked up with; indicating to me that maybe taking pictures half-naked, or wearing fashionable clothing, might actually be the coveted ticket to international hotties. "So, what's new here? Anything interesting?" he asked in a way that made me think he already knew the answer.

"Oh, nothin' much," I said softly, surprised that I didn't start ranting about Sonny yet.

James gave me a knowing smile, and put his hand on my shoulder. "So, funny thing," he started, "On my way in here, I ran into a very _interesting _girl, who I haven't seen in a _very _long time. Any ideas?"

Abruptly, I choked on the drink I was sipping. _"What?" _I sputtered. He'd seen Sonny? What the hell happened? Did they talk? Did they not talk? Did she tell him anything? Did he tell _her _anything? And why was I spazzing out so much about this?

He chuckled at my wide eyes. "Don't worry, bro, I'll fill you in." he promised.

With each informative word he gave me, I felt my heart crush.

"They were…he was…what?" I stammered, completely out of breath. I think I'm going to pass out, in front of everyone. Suddenly, I felt a pinch in the corner of my eyes, along with a burning in my nose.

No.

Not again.

Never again.

Sonny was not going to humiliate me ever. Ever. Again. Never going to hurt me, never going to control me like this.

And I don't care because I have a thing for her or anything like that. No, my feelings for her are long gone. I'm just upset because the ball is currently in her court, and that is _not _the way things were supposed to be going.

Still, this was for some reason too much to handle for me.

"Shit," I muttered to myself, burying my head in my hands.

"Dude, were you into her or something?" James asked, almost tauntingly.

"No, of course not. It's just…you can never find good help these days, you know?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, man, I know." he patted me on the back comfortingly.

No, I was not going to be the victim in all of this.

I was going to come out on top, unharmed.

And the only way to do that was to take action.

James pointed me in the direction of where Sonny was, giggling next to _him_. The smile spread across her face was something I had secretly longed for ever since she left. A few times while she was here, I had desperately tried to bring it back. And now, there it was, brought by another guy.

James smiled at me encouragingly. I brushed off my clothes, fluffed my hair, and marched across the room to where Sonny stood with Hayden, their distance between each other shrinking every second.

_Oh, hell no._

* * *

**Don't you guys just love when I give you cliffhangers?**


	18. Another Lie Unraveling

Hayden and I just stood in front of the door awkwardly for a few minutes. I didn't know what to bring up first; there was so much needed to be said. I unfortunately couldn't recognize the emotion in his face. All I knew was that he kept glancing at a few select people around the crowded room, and then they'd stare at me in confusion. He would simply shrug, and they would move on, before another person would look torwards him and the cycle would repeat. Hayden wasn't exactly doing an excellent job of being discreet about his several silent conversations going on at once.

I felt just like I did at Chad's other party, years ago. Only this time, instead of them giving me condescending glares because I was with Chad, now it was because I was with Hayden.

"So, um, how've you been?" he finally asked. I would say he broke the silence, but with all of the chaotic noise and deafening music playing, that was far from the truth.

I tried to ignore them all, and I forced a smile. "Not that great, but you know, I get by, I guess." I had to shout, since the music was so loud. Whoever was in charge of the sound system must have major hearing problems.

"Yeah, yeah," Hayden said equally as loud. "I know what you mean. Oh, crap, _is that what I look like_?" his new tone startled me, and he frantically reached for a glass on the counter next to us. He peered into his reflection, and immediately flew his hands to the top of his head to fix an out-of-place strand.

"There. That's better, don't you think?" he sighed in relief.

"Um, sure?" I wasn't positive if he was talking to me, or his reflection. He slowly backed away from his mirror, and sighed. His calm expression was suddenly replaced with worry.

"You don't have a camera on you, do you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, why?" I answered.

He still wasn't convinced. "You sure?"

I motioned to my pocket-less ensemble and my empty hands, and stared at him incredulously. "Do you _see _a camera?"

Right when I thought he was about to reply, a girl who looked to be in her late teens unexpectedly slammed into him. "Sorry," she mumbled. She then looked up, and her face changed from mellow to utter shock. "Oh my God, you're Hayden Spencer!" she gushed. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." she fanned her bright red face.

Hayden gave her an annoyed look. "Do you think I _don't _know who I am?"

"Sorry," she said regretfully. "I just…wow! I'm kind of new to Hollywood, so I still get star struck a lot."

He rolled his eyes. "Well you better get used to it if you want to be as sucessful as me."

She still smiled at him, unfazed by his attitude. "Can…can I take a picture with you?" she asked, enthusiastically pulling a camera out of her purse.

"No! No unprofessional pictures!" he yelled, shielding his face.

She looked disappointed as she slid her device back in her bright purple purse.

"Here," he started. I watched in horror as he snatched the napkin she was holding, got a miniature pen out of his pocket, and quickly scribbled his name.

"There you go. Now bye." he snapped in a curt manner, passing her the sky blue autographed napkin and made a _shoo fly, don't bother me_ hand motion. She nodded and mumbled a thank you, then walked away with her head down.

I stood there, mouth agape at Hayden. I blinked in surprise. I had to be dreaming. How else could the Hayden I know be so mean to that poor girl?

"Why were you so rude to her?" I couldn't help but ask.

His face morphed into realization as it finally hit him that I had witnessed the whole exchange. He seemed lost for words for a few moments, but his blank expression quickly vanished.

"I know that must have looked bad, but I just have so many fans, and it's kind of annoying to always get interrupted for pictures or autographs, you know?"

I nodded. I guess I could understand that. Personally, my stardom had never reached the stage where I was constantly bombarded, but I could imagine how old that could get after a while. I smiled at him. "Yeah, I get that."

He grinned gratefully at me, making me feel wrong to assume he was just being a jerk. After all, Hayden is definitely not James. Or Chad.

I felt a pang of uneasiness as I thought his name. Something was nudging me, saying that I believed wrongly of Chad. Like he wasn't a jerk or something crazy like that.

Who was my mind trying to fool?

"So, what were we talking about?" Hayden pondered.

"I don't even remember," I said honestly, giggling more than usual. "But I heard you have a new movie?" I said, hoping he would happily dive into that subject, and then I could easily steer it to the important stuff.

His eyes twinkled sparklingly, and he slightly raised his eyebrows joyfully. His pink lips turned into a gigantic smile before they parted to speak. "Yeah, it was great! I played my part excellently. The director said that I'm sure to win an Oscar. And I did a lot of photo shoots for you know, _I Love Hayden _posters, and…"

He then launched into what felt like an hour long discussion where he droned on about how people love him. He was _seriously _starting to remind me of Chad with his constant bragging.

Actually, now that I think of it, Chad's gloating never lasted nearly this long.

I nodded with each word, trying my best to look like I was paying attention, and patiently awaited for a break. Gosh, does this guy ever take a breath?

"Um, how about the people that worked with you on the movie? What were they like?" I cut him off right as he was in the middle of a new topic: His new convertible, which he believes matches his new house in Europe perfectly.

"Oh, psh, they were nothing special," he downplayed. "I'm the one who brought the whole flick together." he boasted.

"But enough about me," he eventually said. I sighed in relief, and felt myself grow hopeful. "What's new with you?"

Such an easy question, with such an easy answer. But for some reason, my mouth didn't allow me to speak. I figured it was a habit, formed when I realized a long time ago that to protect myself, I have to say quiet. My lips were glued shut, no matter how much I willed them to part. Why was I putting up my shield now? It was just Hayden. He wouldn't hurt me. Regardless, he was waiting for an answer, and I couldn't just say nothing.

Surprisingly, I brought up this skit on a comedy show I watched last month instead. That's right, I'm still into that stuff. Just not as much as I was when I was on So Random. I went through an agonizing period of nothing being funny to me whatsoever, but that episode was rare in the sense that it made me laugh unstoppably.

"And then, the monkey came out, and the girl was like, _'That is _not _my boyfriend!'" _I giggled loudly as I told him the punch line. Tears were streaming out of my eyes from laughing so hard, and I slapped my knee. I was clutching my stomach, which was hurting from my constant cackling. I hadn't even laughed this much when I saw it. There was just something about me being with Hayden that felt familiar. I felt as if I was as if I was slowly turning back into my old self.

Hayden chuckled slightly, looking uncomfortable. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "Sorry about that. It was just…it was so funny!" I snickered again, and even snorted embarrassingly, causing me to howl even louder. Hayden was looking at me as if I was a crazy person, and soon enough, he started chuckling with me.

About twenty seconds later, our joint laughter had finally come to a stop. To say that I now felt comfortable with him would be an understatement. I felt at ease, happy even.

"See, I've missed this. What are you doing here anyway?" he said.

I was ready. "Um, well, I'm sort of Chad's-"

"What?! I can't hear you!" Hayden shouted over the blaring song. Even though we were right next to each other, our voices easily blended in with the sound of music.

I tried again. "I said, I'm Chad's-"

"What was that?" He cupped his hand to his ear, as if that would help transmit my voice more efficiently.

I huffed, frustrated, as he bounced with the beat of the newest Ashley Tisdale (who is here with her new boyfriend, Joe Jonas, by the way) song.

I took another small step closer to him, and another step, and another, until we were practically nose to nose. I looked around the room, searching for...I don't know what. When nothing intimidating jumped out at me, I judged it safe to lean even closer, only to the right. My lips were brushing up against his ear. "I said, I'm Chad. Dylan. Cooper's-Ahh!" I screeched. Without warning, I was being snatched away.

My immediate instinct told me it was James, but the warmness (and sparks, but let's not talk about that) I felt at the person's touch made me consider otherwise.

I kept stumbling, trying to keep my balance as I was being tugged away from Hayden. I soon tripped over my own heels, and tumbled on to the ground. I looked up at Chad, who seemed hesitant on whether to help me up or not.

"What is your problem?!" I demanded, ignoring his obvious internal battle. I pushed myself up on my own. I looked a few yards away, to where I was previously standing.

"Break time's over." he spat loudly over the music.

"Chad, I'm busy!" I shouted back.

"No, you're working," he corrected. "For me." he pointed to himself arrogantly. "And I say, no mingling with the guests!"

"Well Hayden and I were in the middle of a conversation. And it's rude to interrupt, no matter what." I countered.

I thought I saw a flicker of hurt through his eyes when I mentioned Hayden's name, but it was gone before I could think anything of it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James walking torwards us. Great.

"Sonny, you keep forgetting. You. Work. For. _Me! _Not…_that guy. _But if you don't want to work for me, then please, consider yourself welcome to packing your backs and going home."

If only I could.

But at the same time, something in me loved staying here, even though I was constantly treated like crap.

Why?

By this time, James was right next to Chad now, smirking at me obnoxiously. I turned back to Hayden, about to excuse myself and promise that I'd talk to him later tonight, but he came up to me first. "You work for _him? _As what, his hooker?" he sneered, probably referring to my outfit. I honestly didn't think it was that revealing.

"No," I said softly. I knew he couldn't hear me, but hoped he read my lips. I braced myself for my next words, and for some reason, I didn't feel safe with sharing this information with him anymore. "I'm his…I'm his maid."

And right then, at that exact moment, something happened that gave me major dejavu. You know that moment in a movie, when everyone's at some party, and all of a sudden a character says something shocking, the DJ stops what ever corny record is playing, creating a rip sound, and suddenly all eyes are on that character?

That's what just happened to me.

Hayden's eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and Chad stood by, silently confirming my statement. "You're…you're _what?_" he exclaimed, still shocked. There was no need to shout any longer since the music was off, but I had a feeling that wasn't going to change anything.

I crossed my fingers, hoping no more would be said about my current career. I wasn't trying to hide it from anyone. There was no need to. Every single guest at this party new I was working for Chad. The truth is the truth, and that's it. But now that Hayden knew, I felt like I was naked.

"She said, she's my _maid._" Chad stressed, looking threateningly at him.

Hayden then frantically looked all over the room, and absorbed the hushed conversations and wide eyes staring at us, anxious for whatever was going to happen next. You couldn't cut the tension in the room with a knife. Chad looked hurt for some reason, and also enraged. Tawni was with us now, staring at the four of us with wide eyes.

Unexpectedly, Hayden exploded.

"Stop stalking me!" he screamed, flailing his arms in the air.

I stared at him unbelievingly. James looked like he was about to burst with laughter. He put his fist over his chin, trying to hold back.

"_What?_" I croaked.

"You heard me. I said stop following me around all the time!"

My emotions were beginning to run wild, but they mostly consisted of anger and confusion. What the crap is he doing? I was at a loss for words. What could anyone say to a random, public accusation like that?

I couldn't let myself go down like this. If no one else was going to stand up for me, I would.

"Hayden, I-"

"Shut up!" he snapped, causing me to shrink back in fear. "I know we had something a _long _time ago," he continued, "But it's _so _over! So get over it. I don't like you. I would never like you. You're not good enough for someone like _me. _You're just recycled trash."

I could feel the warm tears start to make way to my eyes at the last insult. His other words were just crap he made up on the spot. I knew that. But the last sentence cut deeply into an already fresh wound. He was right. Nobody wanted me here. Chad didn't want me. But now I'm back, as no more than a servant for them.

Hayden of all people pointing this out, bothered me. It's not like he and I were close or anything. He never bothered to come in contact with me after I left. It wasn't the humiliation of him saying things like that about me with hundreds of people around to witness it that instantly switched my mood from Kinda Good to Mega Awful. And it definitely wasn't that I was in love with him or anything mushy like that.

It was because Hayden was the only thing that made sense about my short experience here in Hollywood.

And now, he was just like the rest of them.

"Plus, you look like a whore." he added, glaring at me disgustedly. I stared down at the bottom half of my outfit, my slight self-esteem dropping to an all time low. I furiously wiped the burning tears away, not being able to resist looking to see what Chad's reaction was. He kept his expression blank, but seemed uneasy at the same time.

"So leave me alone, before I get a restraining order." he said angrily, pushing his way through the crowd.

And as he walked away, I felt the last piece of hope in me leave as well.

* * *

**I know I gave you guys three choices for Hayden's personality. A, B, and C. AKA, Nice Hayden, New Jerk Hayden, and Always Jerk Hayden. Not so sure if it's in that order, and I don't feel like looking back to see.**

**Well, combined with the reviews AND the pms I received, A and C tied, and B was just one vote under. And for those of you who gave reasons on why you chose whatever letter, I took that into consideration as well.**

**So I figured, hey, why not mess with their heads, and make them think it's one of the choices, when it's really another?**

**Ha, love you guys. **

**But don't worry, something great and romantic and Channy will come of Hayden being all mean. **

**Pinky swear. **

**Oh, and the next update _might _be slower than usual. I'm going to my grandma's house for a few days, and I'm not sure how often I'll be on to write.**

**But I'll try to make it as fast as possible.**


	19. The Aftershock

Little by little, the audience began to disperse, the music came back on, and the fancy spinning neon ceiling lights illuminated the gigantic room once again. The guests continued their mingling like nothing ever happened. Although I knew that wasn't completely true; they're going to be watching out for me now, just in case they get to see a second show. For me, however, my whole perspective on life was just changed in an instant.

I was in a daze. Everything and everyone around me slowly faded away, but for some reason, Chad's face was the only thing left in high quality. He didn't believe that I was really stalking Hayden, did he? He saw us talking. He knew that it was mutual. He knew that. Right?

I turned to Chad, numb to the tears still rolling down my red cheeks. "Chad, you know I didn't-"

"Sonny, please, don't talk right now." he begged, hanging his head down. Tawni awkwardly glanced at James, most likely anticipating that something bad was going to happen that they shouldn't witness. She had to force him away by dragging him by the ear.

I gulped. Something told me this wasn't going to end well.

I tried again. "Hayden is a liar, Chad. I wasn't-" my voice cracked as I spoke.

"Sonny, I said be quiet." he said sternly this time, beginning to move his legs and walk away. I followed him.

"But Chad, I-"

"Shut _up, _Sonny!" he snapped, balling his fists together and holding them securely at his sides. He took a small glance at me, and his taut lips morphed into a smirk. This scared me. It wasn't his usual confident smirk. No, this one had more negative emotions in it. He was hurt, I could tell. But why?

"Chad, are you-" I whispered softly, only to have him cut me off once again.

"I can't believe I let you trick me, again." he muttered with his head down.

"What?" I choked out.

Slowly, he raised his head up so he could face me. He looked so vulnerable then, so confused, so betrayed. For some reason, that made me want to hug him overwhelmingly. But I couldn't.

"You walk around here like you're the victim of some horrible crime. Like _I'm _the bad guy." he spat, staring at me disgustedly. His sharp eyes were like knives, slicing into my already open wounds. I took a deep breath and swallowed before I spoke, so that my words didn't come out incoherently.

"Chad, I really don't know what you're talking about." I managed to get out.

"Oh, you don't?" he countered menacingly. "You and Hayden out on _my _porch, you...pleasuring him...right there? Refresh your memory?"

I blinked, taken aback. Why would I do something like that? And what makes Chad think I would?

"Chad, I didn't! That's not true!" I exclaimed. He raised his eyebrows at me, unconvinced. I probably seemed defensive, which would confirm that his accusation was true. I took another deep breath, and tried to calm down; which was incredibly tough to do, considering the chain of events in the last twenty minutes. "We were just talking. Then he said I was stalking him when he found out I was working for you, to justify him being seen with me." I sniffled. Was I really that bad to be around?

"Well, I know _that _part is true," he agreed softly. I was more than grateful that he understood. Abruptly, he hardened again. His blue eyes pierced at me. "Hayden plays with people's emotions so he can get what he wants, then he drops them when he's satisfied. He's a user, Sonny." he almost shouted. His eyes made direct contact with mine, causing me to be unable to turn away. He bent down to meet my height, glaring. "And you two deserve each other." he stated sharply, stood up straight, turned his back to me, and started to hurriedly walk away. I ran to catch up with him, which was very hard to do in heels. I focused my undying attention on the back of his white shirt, so that I wouldn't lose him in the crowd. I tried to reach out and touch him, getting him to stop, but kept missing. Finally, I succeeded to grab his shoulder.

"Chad, please, stop!" I pleaded. It scared me at first, how much I cared of what he thought. He obeyed, but shrugged my boney hand off of his shoulder. I began to grow hopeful again. Maybe he was going to listen to me. Maybe we could talk this out. "Chad, you know I wasn't-"

"Leave me alone!" he yelled, but I wasn't going to give in. I continued, "I don't know where you heard it from, but Hayden and I weren't doing anything like that, at all!" I yelled as loudly as I could, hoping the volume of my voice would somehow make my words more believable.

"Sonny, I'm sick of your crap! I'm sick of your excuses, and I'm sick of your lies." he listed, his arms flailing as he spoke. "You're full of bull, Sonny." he barked with venom dripping from his voice, his eyes decreasing to a darker shade of blue.

What else could I say to convince him? I didn't…I couldn't…

"Chad, please," I blubbered, starting to cry even harder than before. If things kept going like this, my tear ducts were going to be empty by the time I was home.

He looked as if he was getting more than annoyed. His face was red from all the shouting, and his now dark, narrowing blue eyes gave me a long, bitter, icy stare. After what seemed like an excruciating eternity of his eyes drilling at me, he spoke. Well, more like burst. "Sonny, shut the hell up. Hayden's a jerk. He was always a jerk. And it's about time you found out. But he was right about one thing: You _are _trash. Not only trash, but a trashy slut. And I don't know why I waste my time with you."

Every word slammed me down to an all time low. His tone tore me apart. Maybe this was what hell was like. It had to be, because I couldn't imagine anything worst than what I was feeling.

I struggled not to let myself drop to the floor, another physical sign of how hated I felt. "Chad," I pleaded in a soft tone, unable to turn my volume up any louder. My only response was him lifting his hand up as he walked away, silently saying, _end of discussion. _

* * *

I'm starting to think that the universe is plotting against me. Maybe whoever is in charge of fate and stuff hates me. Maybe I won an award that they wanted to win, and now it's their mission to make my life miserable. It's cruel how it all works, really. Just when I think that I've got it all under control, this happens, making me even more confused. Why me? Why do I have to keep getting hurt? And why is my only option to shut her out?

And the most confusing thing? I finally got my revenge on Sonny. I told her off, I let out my anger, and I should feel on top of the world. Yet, I feel hurt, and confused, and sad. What the crap is up with that? I mean, what happened to Sonny was pretty much the exact replica of the scene that humiliated _me. _It was perfect. _And _I got to call her out on her lies at the same time. Why wasn't I happy to see her hurt? Why did I still not feel satisfied? Why did her tears make me feel like crying too?

And why the hell do I feel like Sonny cheated on me, again? We're not dating; we're barely friends. I should have expected this out of her, if she was sleeping around so much at seventeen. I don't know…I guess I was hoping she changed, for some odd reason. Maybe I was in denial the whole time. Maybe I haven't stopped caring about her. Maybe I did love her before when we were dating, and that's why I took the breakup so hard. Maybe I still do love her. Maybe I want to try _us _again.

Well, that was out the window now.

I resisted my urge to turn back around to see what she was doing. Honestly, I don't care now if she calls it quits for the night. I don't care if she goes upstairs, packs her bags, and leaves without a goodbye. At least I'll finally have peace. Maybe I can figure things out a little easier without her here to distract me.

"Chad," Tawni smiled at me sympathetically when she spotted me, and then pulled me in for a hug. It was nice, the feeling of being cared for. Still, I couldn't help but think that Tawni's hugs were nothing compared to Sonny's.

"H-Hey," I stuttered, surprised at how tight my throat was. Tawni released me, and stared at me, concerned. "You okay, hun?" she asked, her green eyes scanning me up and down. I probably looked like a mess. A hot mess. And I mean that in the sense that, I'm hot, even when I'm a mess.

"I've been better." I understated, trying my best to smile. She seemed to understand, and patted my shoulder comfortingly. "James told me about what she and Hayden did." she stated. Tawni gazed at me in a way that let me know that she knew what I might have been feeling for her, and how much that news hurt me. I just nodded.

"I'm really sorry, Chad."

"Me too." I sighed.

We just stood there in silence for a few moments, trying to collect our thoughts. Finally, Tawni spoke again, breaking the silence.

"I thought I saw something between you two," she started, and my head raised up higher in interest. "I could see that you still liked her, and I was sure that she felt the same way…but I guess not. It was really low what she did, Chad. And to think she fooled me into thinking that you were the villain." she shook her head, clearly ashamed of herself.

"Tawni, she fooled me too. It's just what she does." I comforted. She looked at me, not needing to angle her head up, since we were the same height. "I can't believe you're trying to make _me _feel better. You must be like totally sad."

I chuckled at her teen girl slang. "Yeah, something like that, but I'll live." I smiled, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

I then remembered what Tawni had said a few days ago. About Sonny making her rethink the hatred she had for her. I was afraid that Tawni would start giving _me _the cold shoulder instead, and become BFFs with Sonny.

"Sooo…are we okay now?" I asked Tawni, looking at her hopefully.

"Yeah, we're okay." she smiled.

"Hey, dude, what's up with the pity party?" I heard James's voice boom from behind me. He was doing some sort of conga dance by himself, kind of disturbing me. Tawni and I shared a look that asked, _Is he drunk?_

"Come on, stop moping, Chad. You're CDC, and you deserve better, right?" James encouraged.

I sighed. I _am _CDC. "Yeah, right." I said weakly. James accepted it anyway, and pointed me torwards some cute girls a few feet away from us, and gestured torwards a hot blonde guy for Tawni. She rolled her eyes, "God, James, he's so not my type." she rolled her eyes, and then fell on the view of a man with jet black hair and green eyes. "But _he_ is…" she said, fluffed her hair, and strutted to the other side of the room.

"Ready to have some fun, bro?"

Fun…a distraction.

I could use that.

It's time for me to finally have some fun, and forget about Sonny.

I glanced around the room, my eyes setting on the attractive celebrities scattered across the room. James is right, I shouldn't be moping. This is a party, _my _party, and I should take advantage of it.

"I'm more than ready."

* * *

I've never felt this bad before. Never. Not even when I found out my mom was sick.

I have the most painful headache in the world, every bone in my body hurts, my throat is tight and scratchy (not sure if that's from the crying or not), and then I've got emotional pain on top of those symptoms. I'm just surprised that I haven't been pushed off the edge yet. Maybe it's because I'm too tired and weak to walk all the way to the kitchen for a sharp object.

All I know is, I desperately need to lie down.

I dragged myself out of my chair, torwards the living room in which the nearest stairs are connected to.

"Nice job back there, Sonny." I heard a voice address me. I forced my eyes to open a little bit wider to see who the person was, but I had a feeling I already knew.

Rage boiled in me when I saw his smiling face. He grinned warmly at me as if nothing had ever happened. He continued. "Really, it's nice to see you haven't lost any of your acting skills." he winked.

I looked around the living room, and gazed anxiously at the stair steps leading to my room. "Why are you talking to me?" I asked spitefully.

"Because no one's around, silly." he flicked my nose with his pointer finger, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. I should have known.

He deserved to be slapped and much more, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to. So I spoke instead. "You know, Hayden," I spat his name, "When I was famous and you weren't, I still hung out with you. I even pretended to _date_ you. You were a server, just like me. And I didn't even have a second thought about it." I ranted, putting in my best effort to glare at him.

He just shrugged. "Yeah, but that was different. You doing that made me more famous, and if I was merely seen with you _now,_ it would make me less famous. See how that works?"

Finally, I developed the energy to slap him.

"I hate you." I yelled, feeling as if I was letting a big chunk of my anger out. He just stared at me in shock, and I started to walk upstairs before he could respond.

"Hayden, leave." an angry female voice snapped. I only made it to the first step when I turned around t see Tawni almost running torwards me. "Hey, Tawni, what's up?" I asked uneasily. The way she walked let me know that she was furious. At me? Possibly. But what did I do? Unexpectedly, she stopped walking, signaling for me to meet her the rest of the way.

Ugh, more moving? Really?

"Just one thing," she breathed when I was only a few feet away from her, right in front of the swinging door leading to where the party was held. Without warning, she extended her arm, dropping her empty glass on the ground with a clash, and slapped my left cheek. Hard. The ring she was wearing dug into my skin a little bit, increasing the pain. The rapid movement of my head from the smack increased my headache.

I held my cheek soothingly, staring with my mouth wide open at her. "What the crap was that for?" I screeched.

"Chad." she seethed, and started to strut back into the party before I could ask what she means.

"Oh," she called back, "and you better clean that up." she said with a laugh, referring to the broken glass on the hard, tiled floor.

You know what? I'm done. I'm done trying to make things right. Trying to regain my normal life. I don't fit in here, with the liars and fakes. I'm just not something they appreciate.

I'll keep working here, but I'm emotionally detaching myself from it all.

I'm through with letting myself fall.

I'm done.

* * *

**Btw, I _so _didn't mean for the last few lines to seem like a poem haha. Just turned out that way (:**


	20. Downward Spiral

**WARNING: This chapter contains self-harm {cutting} and heavy drinking. Please note that I do not support either.**

**I keep forgetting to say this in the author's notes of my other chapters [I've been planning to say this since we hit 100] but:**

**THANK YOU! **

**261 reviews and I'm only a little over half way through the story? That's amazing. Thank you guys, again. **

* * *

The door kept swinging, seemingly taunting me. Back and forth, back and forth. It just refused to settle down into a closed state. Every time it would open again, I was able to see into the party. Not a good thing. Even though I'm convinced that I immensely hate every single person here, what if somebody was drunk and tripped and landed face-first into the broken glass?

I'll clean it up. Maybe it will be good karma.

The glass lay shattered on the floor. Staring at it, I felt an involuntary shiver ripple down my spine and cascade through my body. I pushed the swinging door open a tiny bit and glanced around, desperate to see if anyone had noticed me. No one was looking at me, all too involved in their own conversations. I swiftly reached down to grab a piece of a single shard, reflecting the blinking lights of the party. I looked up again; James winked smugly at me, Chad was talking to Tawni, and Hayden's angry eyes met mine. His eyes were glaring at me with a fury so intense it sent another shiver through my body, this time out of fear.

I gripped the lone shard. I felt a prick of pain in my right hand. Glancing down, I saw a light stream of blood, trickling from a cut. The room swirled around me, the eyes staying still, continuing to pierce me with their fury.

Another stab of pain. I took a deep breath and released my grip on the tiny piece of broken glass. Finally, I glanced up again. The eyes were gone, James tore his attention away from me, and Chad was immersed in a new conversation, this time with a man. But his words still played in my head.

_You _are _trash. Not only trash, but a trashy slut. And I don't know why I waste my time with you._

The three sentences repeated like a broken record. Not only that, but the look on his face and harsh tone were incredibly vivid in my memory.

And that's what pushed me over the edge.

I sighed, attempting to relax. This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not now. I was doing so good. I was so proud of myself. Why did I have to let even myself down? I glanced fervently around me, my eyes locking on the bathroom door. A safe haven. No one would see me. _No one _could follow me.

_No_, I silently cautioned myself. _Not here. Not now. Concentrate. Think._

But despite my silent pep-talk my limbs still ached with anticipation. No one would notice if I left for a few minutes, would they? I opened the door again. A brief glance at the busy faces around the room confirmed that my presence would surely not be missed. In five quick paces I was inside the lovely, elegant bathroom that I had discovered on my first day here, breathing a deep sigh of relief. I was safe now. Safe from the critical glances, the condescending glares. Now the only person I had to fear was myself. Sinking to the cold hard floor, I pulled out the broken glass.

Who cared anymore? Why did I care about what was happening? Why should I care about anyone else? People only lead to disappointment. People were just liars and fakes.

I flipped over my left arm and brought the glass to my skin. I winced in pain as the blade pierced it. I dug deeper, pulling it towards me, watching the dark blood pour out of my wrist as if I was finally setting it free. I didn't blame it for not wanting to be inside me. I was a mess. At least the blood could escape me, I was stuck with me forever.

As the physical pain increased, my emotional pain plummeted. I love this part.

But for some reason, it didn't completely sooth me this time like it usually did. I didn't feel at peace any longer. I still wasn't okay.

I roughly pulled my sleeve back down, and abruptly exited the bathroom. I couldn't go on like this any longer. I just couldn't. I'd rather die then go through this torture.

Not exactly yearning to die at such a young age, I did the only thing I could do. I've seen this all of my life. It's the one thing wise that my uncle has taught me, that stuck with me. Alcohol. Alcohol leads to a more relaxed and at ease person, so I've seen.

That's why 80% of the people at this party were currently intoxicated. And look at how much fun they're having. And trust me, their lives aren't perfect. From my eavesdropping evening, I learned that most of their lives are almost as bad off as mine.

I walked out of the living room, and marched over to the bar with a purpose, blocking out everything and everyone except for my final destination. I kept my eyes forward, and tried not to let myself get too caught up in my actions, and the words from others swimming around me.

After a few quickly exchanged words between the friendly looking bartender and I, I finally took a swing from the warm bottle of wine, closing my eyes as I took a gulp. The warm liquid stung at my tongue and throat as I swallowed. I opened my eyes and glanced around the room. No one was looking at me, no one was staring, no one was judging.

Finally, I felt safe.

* * *

_**An hour and a half later**_

"I want another one." I demanded throatily, cradling my throbbing head.

"I _really _think you've had enough." Mike, the bartender, urged.

"No, I want another one! Hit me!" I whined like a toddler, and pouted. Suddenly, a poppy beat sprung into my mind.

"Hit me baby one more time!" I yell-sang, and then burst into hysterical laughter.

"But really," I said when I finally sobered. (Get it? Sobered! Like in the sense of my bizarre laughing fit, not my drunkness. If that's a word. Is it a word? I don't think it's a word. It should be a word, you know?)

"Give me another." I told him.

Mike looked like he was thinking for a little bit, and then took out another beverage. I smiled gratefully as I prepared to watch him pour the clear colored alcohol into a cup.

"So, what's got you so down anyway?" he asked, looking adorably concerned. Even though he was twenty-five years old, he still had this whole baby-face thing going on.

I looked down, my hair falling into my face. I smiled at his encouraging face. "Well you seeeeee," I slurred, "I was datin' Chaddy when we were kids. Reaaaaaaal young, you know? We were…we were…" 10...11...12...13…14...15...16...

"Seventeen! We were seventeen!" I announced. "And then, I found out he was only dating me for a _bet! _A bet that he could have sex with me! Like, who goes out with a girl for a year just for a _bet?_" I felt my hands flying all over the place with my words. "And then, get this: I bump into this guy Hayden, and he used to date my bff at the time. And he was like, '_Oh! Tell me what's wrong!' _and I was like _'okay!' _and then he was like _'You should pretend to be cheating on him with me to get him back!' and I was like 'okay!' _you know? And then Chad got mad at me and he made me lose my job and I had to move out of Cali and to my home…but no one liked me there. Why didn't anyone like me there?" I asked him.

He gave me a mock-shocked expression that I didn't quite pick up on. "Who wouldn't like _you?_" he exclaimed.

"_I know!" _I screeched, slapping my hands down on the counter in front of me.

"And then," I continued, "My mom got sick. Like _real _sick. And I wanted to help her, I really really did but I couldn't do anything about it 'cuz I didn't have money! Because I lost my job! So I call my ex-bff…oh by the way, all of my old friends hate me because they thought it was my fault that our show got canceled. But anywhoooo…apparently she told Chad that I was having money problems, and he stalked me and found out where I lived and came to my house and told me he would give me the money I needed. That is, if I would be his maid."

"He didn't!" Mike gasped.

"He did!" I confirmed. "Boys are so mean and ridiculous and macho and _lame! _And they mess with girl's hearts! And they're icky and I hate them all and wish they would just die! You know?" I ranted.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." he agreed.

I squinted at him very carefully, just to make sure I wasn't so intoxicated that I misunderstood his/her/its gender. "I thought you _are _a guy?"

"I am," he said. "A gay one." he clarified.

"_Ooooh._" I cooed understandingly. "Anyway, back to me. Sooo now I'm here. And at first it was going bad, then worse, then better, then realllllly good! He was being really sweet to me! But now he thinks that I was doing some sexual favors," it came out like _seshual fabors_. "For Hayden! And I wasn't! And then he got all sad and mad. And that made _me _sad and mad. "

"Sounds to me like he's still into you," he said. "And I know you're drunk and everything, but I'm kinda getting the vibe that you're still into him, too."

I thought carefully over that statement. _Am _I still into him? After everything that happened? I mean yeah, back in Wisconsin, I was under the impression that I was still deeply in love with him, but after a few days here, I realized that maybe it really _was _just a crush, and I misunderstood my feelings, you know?

But when he was being all nice...I thought I felt something else.

"I don't know." I said honestly. "Oh! And before that," I launched back into our old topic, "Hayden said I was stalking him because he didn't wanna be seen with me now that I'm not famous and I work for Chad as a maid and I'm not…not…what's the word?"

"Successful?" he offered.

"Yeah! That! I'm not successful. I'm not anything. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go back to Wisconsin. I mean, duh, I'm gonna save my mom's life like some freaking super hero, but other than that, then what? You know? Do I keep working for my uncle as a waitress? Do I do _anything_?"

Mike stared off into space for a few moments, but then looked back at me. "I really don't know, Allison. But hey, if worse comes to worst, I'll help in any way I can." he smiled.

I like this guy. He's nice. I like nice guys.

"Thanks, Mikey." I giggled. "You're a real pal, you know? A real bud. A real…" I took another sip of my drink. "Hey, why does this vodka taste funny?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Because it's water." he winked.

"Hey!" I shouted. "That's not fair!"

He just laughed more. Psh, forget about me liking this guy. He's not nice at _all. _"You're a big fat meanie!" I accused, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Wow, I wonder what you're like when you're sober…" he wondered aloud. I was about to tell him that I'm a boring, self-destructive loser, but a fuzzy sounding voice broke my concentration.

"Hey, hottie, wanna dance?"

I whimpered as I forced myself to shift a little bit and see who the distorted sounding voice was coming from. I squinted my eyes at the blurry face, but I was only able to distinct a mop of brown hair dancing on the top of the deep voice's head.

I put my hands on the edge of the counter and pushed myself upwards so that my lips were hovering near Mike's ears. "Psst, Mikeypoo, I can't see what he looks like. Is he hot? Like, burnin' up?" I whispered.

"Not my type," Mike answered. "I don't like the pretty boy/bad boy look. But he also has this whole devious smirk thing, which is a turn on. But if I wasn't particular, I'd be all over that." he smiled.

"I'm burnin' up, burnin' up, for you baaaaaabay." I sang loudly into his ears, causing him to wince in pain. I giggled as I leaned back and held out my hand to the stranger. "Sure, sweetie pie honey cakes." the words all mushed together.

He took it, and led me to the dance floor. I threw my head back to take a last look at Mike; something telling me that I wasn't going to be seeing him again for a while. I gave a childish wave goodbye and blew a kiss with my free hand.

The next thing I knew, I was being grinded against in the middle of the room to the beat of a song with a techno sound. Funny how I was just mocking and pitying the people earlier who were doing this exact same "dance", if you could even call it that.

From what I could tell, I was getting as into it as the other people surrounding me and the other guy. My veins were pulsing with excitement, and I could just start to make out his face. I think he realized this, and slightly turned his head. Maybe he's shy or something. That's cute.

"Hey, wanna go somewhere more private?" he asked me seductively.

I giggled. "Sure, sweetie." I agreed. He took my hand and led me to an unknown room. For a split second, I thought of Chad and wondered if he would be even more disappointed in me for this. I was living up…or down, to his expectations of me.

And I hate myself for it.

All the more reason to go with this guy.

But really, what's the worst that could happen? We make out a little, and then we go back to dancing. Hey, maybe I finally met my soul mate.

In which case, I better find out how good of a kisser he is.


	21. Not Always Right

**Sorry to make you guys wait. I had major writer's block, but it's all good now (:**

* * *

"I'm worried about Allison."

I automatically stopped dead in my tracks and whipped my head around to face the bartender I hired, Mike, as he wiped down the counter and gave me a serious look. My adrenaline was running like crazy and I really didn't feel like a conversation, especially about Sonny. I tried to stop myself from snapping at him. After all, it was important for me to save that anger for Hayden.

Quick Recap: I, Chad Dylan Cooper, a rich and famous twenty-one year old guy, just spent the last two hours of his own party in his library, alone. Inside, I could hear the muffled and soft beat of the music vibrating from the walls. I felt socially drained, but now I am recharged. My monster headache is now down to a more relaxed state, and I no longer feel like I'm going bald.

In the library, I found myself thinking about how this wasn't supposed to happen for another nine years. I mean, is it even possible to age faster due to heartbreak? If you can even call what I'm feeling heartbreak. That sounds wimpy. I'm CDC: the opposite of a wimp. I guess you could say I'm immensely disappointed, and maybe I feel a little alone. But so what? I'm human, although I'm the most highest breed of the species. And humans, no matter how amazing, come across low points in their lives. And I guess you could say that this is a huge one for me.

Even though I feel better now since I'm on a mission (which I have dubbed HNTD - Hayden Needs To Die), my skin still feels prickly and cold. My eyes are stinging infuriatingly, and the back of my neck keeps itching (something that only occurs when I'm upset.)

And, worst of all, I've got this little impossible to ignore indentation pricking my chest.

All because of her.

All because of _Sonny. _

Honestly, words can't describe the betrayal I've felt.

I was doing a better job of not clinging to the past, but the whole Sonny-Hayden thing that happened earlier brought back old wounds. And this pain isn't even an eighth of what I felt that night when I found out Sonny was cheating on me.

What a lot of girls don't realize is, when a girl cheats on a guy with another guy, and the guy was crazy about her, it's like the world ended. I wasn't supposed to care about her, but I really, really did.

It'd like she said, "I don't care about you anymore whatsoever and he's better than you could ever be. You're just not good enough for me. I never liked you."

And it doesn't help that it wasn't the first time I had been cheated on.

And Sonny didn't even try to soften the blow. She came right out with it, at _my _freaking _party. _

And besides the gigantic blow to the guy's ego, it does a lot of emotional damage as well; even if no guy wants to admit it. That damage stays until they find a new girlfriend who they care about just as much.

Which I have yet to accomplish.

All I remember doing in there was sighing pathetically and grabbing a book, attempting to force myself to get lost in a world completely different from mine. Yup, I was reading while a party was going on directly outside of where I was.

Soon, the muffled noise from the party turned into echoing silence as I drifted off into slight unconsciousness. Next thing I knew, Tawni was shaking me urgently and demanded that I get up. Apparently, the party ended early due to a few fights that got out of hand, but the event was still legendary. About fifteen people decided to make themselves at home and loiter around, and I was the only one that could rightfully kick them out. Tawni said that some dude made up his mind that it would be a great idea to sneak weed in, which left several high guests who have overstayed their welcome, fawning over my new plasma. Also, Hayden stayed too, with about eight or so of his groupies hanging onto his every word.

If the news that under-the-influence people were playing with my precious flat screen didn't give me enough initiative to throw them all the hell out, just the mere mention of Hayden and his groupies more than pushed me over the edge.

The air was still, but it had some remaining tension lingering. That was to be expected after any party, but something felt wrong. Very, very wrong.

Thankfully, it only took fifteen minutes to boot out the D-List losers. For some reason, my attention was barely there as I did it, but at least the deed was done. Tawni called cabs for all of them, which arrived in the perfect amount of time.

I'm a little too excited to remove Hayden and his followers from my property. What makes him think that he has the right to stay late anyway, after what he did? That fake needs to be taken down a few thousand notches. I never liked him, even when he was an intern at Condor Studios; way back when I was just developing a crush on Sonny. Way back when he kissed her at that basketball game. When I think about it that way, I guess Sonny cheating on me is my fault. If I never gave her those tickets, she would have never kissed him. And maybe if they never kissed, she wouldn't have ever thought of him as anything more than the guy her friend likes.

Regardless of what might have been the cause that led to the painful effect, the fact remained that Hayden stayed _way _past his welcome.

The funny thing is, besides a little spat between us when he wanted to guest star on Mackenzie Falls, after Sonny left, he totally ignored me. I'm not sure if it was because he was under the ridiculous impression that he was better than me, or if he was afraid that I would murder him if he so much as said hello to me. Either way, he's a loser.

Which is why I am so incredibly excited to march over to the living room and release my anger. I have a feeling I'm going to do a _little _more than forcefully ask him to leave. In fact, I'm pretty sure my hostility from the whole Sonny and him thing will come out too. But that will have to wait, because once again, Sonny's in the way. Really, can't she leave me alone when I'm trying to take my anger that she caused out on Hayden and any innocent bystanders?

"She's not worth the worry, dude." I answered Mike, hoping to brush it off and move on.

"This is serious. I really think something bad happened." he said. I internally groaned and shifted my weight so that I was half facing him. I gave him an expression that silently ordered, _humor me. _

"She was drinking. A lot."

"Not my problem." I said. I mean come on, everyone at this party probably drank a lot.

"I gave her a few waters to help her sober up, but she was still pretty wasted by the time a guy asked her to dance. I watched them, not in the creepy way, but just to make sure there were no shenanigans. I turned my back for one second to put a bottle away, and when I looked back, they were both gone. I looked out for them the entire time, but even when everyone started to leave and I had a clearer view, I still didn't see either of them."

With a brief shiver, I felt myself tense. My protective instincts were kicking in; a bad thing. A sign of caring. I can't even pretend for five minutes that she's not a big part of my life, can I?

What if someone took her? What if someone was holding her for ransom? Or what if that guy she was dancing with, or someone else, took advantage of her?

Or what if she would want it regardless of if she was sober or not?

Or…what if she really did leave?

Crap. I knew I shouldn't have even joked about her packing her bags and going back to Wisconsin. But really, I don't know why I want her to stay. Perhaps I want to do some sort of hero job and "fix" her or something.

"Wait," I stopped my incredibly bewildering thoughts. "What did he look like?"

"Dark brown hair, light brown eyes. Really that's all I remember. I couldn't even tell what the guy was wearing because it was so dark." he reported. Seriously? That's it? I've got _nothing. _

"Chill, Chad, she's probably in her room. Want me to check?" Tawni suggested. All I could do was give her a brief head nod in response, since my head was approaching explosion.

"And you know, she wasn't doing anything with that Hayden guy earlier. The reason she was drinking so much was because she was hurt that you didn't believe her." Mike said.

Yeah, right.

"Dude, listen. Sonny is a liar. She bends stories so she seems like the innocent victim. Trust me, I know her."

"Do you? Do you really?"

I cut Mike with my eyes. That's _my _line. Everyone knows that. He has no right to use it. And he's definitely not doing a good job of winning Sonny's case by stealing from me. He shrugged. "I don't know, Sonny kept saying it. It was catchy." he explained defensively. I didn't bother to tell him that Sonny got it from me. There were more important things that needed to be said.

"Whatever. The fact remains that I _do _know Sonny better than you do, and she's probably fine. She just hooked up with some guy or something." I had to force the words out of my mouth. They seemed strangely foreign to our conversation.

"Look, I know you've got security cameras. Instead of us going back and forth on this, how about you prove me wrong?" he challenged.

Oh, it's on.

"Follow me." was all I said in response. Hayden will have to wait. I've got a point to prove. The more people who know the truth about Sonny, the better.

It didn't take long for us to finally arrive in the small room where two computer monitors were resting. There were only two rooms in my house that didn't have a hidden camera. This one, and the one I told James he could use whenever he was at a party at my house and wanted to hook up with some chick.

I pushed my hand onto the mouse and swiveled it quickly. Within seconds, the black screen morphed into a time selector. I chose the time that I remember Sonny dropping her platter of food, and went from there. I sat back in my chair, excited that someone else would be proved wrong.

"See? Here's Sonny falling down, there's me picking it up, there's us talking, there's her going outside…" I narrated.

"Wait, who is that guy?" Mike asked, seeming alarmed. I leaned in closer to the screen, seeing my friend James approach her.

"What is he _doing _to her?" I asked.

"It looks like he's got her in some sort of headlock?" Mike guessed. I couldn't help but snicker when Sonny smashed his foot.

"Wait, what is he doing with her arm?" I was the alarmed one now. On the colored screen, I had to witness Sonny struggling against James, trying to break away.

"Ouch, that looks like it's gonna leave some bruises." Mike commented. I winced in pain at the thought of Sonny in pain. I hate when I do that. But I can't believe James would act like that with her. I mean, I knew he didn't like her, but that was just...wrong. A guy should never handle a girl like that.

"Look, there's Hayden!" I exclaimed, just when I thought James was going to do something _bad _to her. I'm gonna have to have a long talk with him about this. I can't have him doing that again, because then I'll feel sorry for her. And that…that just doesn't work out for me.

"See, I told you I was right!" I shouted.

"Are you _blind? _They're just talking! And talking, and talking…and now they're inside."

What?

They didn't…they didn't do anything.

"Maybe James meant to tell me that they were doing something _inside._" I said, half-hoping that I was right, just for the sake of being right, and half-hoping that James wasn't right and Sonny was telling the truth. If it was the latter, then I must have seemed like a huge jerk to Sonny tonight, and then if she was in trouble, that would be my fault too.

I banged my head on the desk when I decided that Mike was right. Inside of the party, all Sonny and Hayden did was _talk. _In the corner of the screen, I could see James talking to me, feeding me lies.

I had to stop the video when it got the part where I walk over to Sonny to snatch her away from Hayden.

I'm such an idiot.

I turned my head to Mike, prepared to hear him gloat about his victory, but all he did was stare at the paused screen for an unknown reason, as if trying to connect the dots in some sort of internal puzzle.

"Chad, Chad!" Tawni shouted as she ran. Okay, she wasn't running, but she was walking pretty fast. She never liked running. She always said that pretty people shouldn't have to run for anything or anyone. Still, her heels were clicking purposefully as she walked at a relatively fast speed to the security room.

"Sonny's not in her room." she informed, out of breath, as she leaned on the frame of the door. "Her stuff is still there though, and her suitcase is empty. I looked in all of the other main rooms: the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, but she's not in any of them."

"That's him!" Mike blurted.

"Who? What?" Tawni asked.

"The guy who asked Allison to dance. I knew he looked familiar. That's him. James."

"I'm confused. Don't tell me we have to go after her." Tawni pleaded, most likely wondering why I cared that she was missing. After all, I had just told her less than two hours ago that I wouldn't care if she dropped off the face of the earth.

I lied.

Okay. So this is my fault. My problem. I need to make things right. Sonny might have cheated on me three years ago, but her and Hayden weren't carrying on old times. In this rare case, she was innocent. It's time for me to take control.

"Tawni, I'll catch you up in a second. Mike, you sure that was him?"

"Positive. Should we follow them with the camera to see where they went?"

I took a deep breath, trying to clear my thoughts, and pushing my Hayden mission to the side. If James was violent with her, then Sonny would have enough sense not to accept a dance with him normally. And she definitely wouldn't hook up with him if she knew it was him, too. Mike said she was wasted, after all. If she wasn't in any of the main rooms, and James's car was still here, then…

"Don't bother with the video. I know what room she's in."


	22. Depressing Author's Note

***I'm sorry I have to do this; I hate it when I get an email saying a story I enjoy reading posted a new chapter, and it turns out it's just an author's note:**

**Please pray for my dear laptop, Leslie. She fell into a coma yesterday evening and has yet to recover. We shall soon send her out to the computer hospital to be repaired. My life is over. Thank you.**

**Okay, maybe the situation isn't _that _dramatic, but still.**

**There I was, yesterday evening, writing the next chapter to this story while I jammed out to Katy Perry and facebooked. I've had pretty intense writer's block all the way up until then, and was relieved to finally have inspiration for it.**

**I was writing, I was writing, I was writing…and then I took the plug out for _two seconds_ (the laptop was fully charged, btw), and then it shut off.**

**And it won't come back on.**

**We've tried _everything_. And we only have one option left:**

**Send it in to be repaired.**

**Which takes like…two weeks.**

**Meaning, I won't be able to post or even finish writing the next chapter until then.**

**I'm on my mom's computer right now, but it's old and has a virus and the mouse is a fail, but at least I can _read_ fan fictions on here.**

**But I pinky swear, as soon as Leslie comes back to life, you'll see a new chapter up.**

**Give or take a day.**

**Sorry guys ):**


	23. When You Let Your Heart Win

**Oh my gosh, I missed you guys soo much! Sorry for the wait. I know I said two weeks, and it ended up being over three, but after they sent back Leslie, Microsoft Word was for some reason being rebellious and wouldn't come up for some reason until just the other day. **

**To make up for the wait, I made this chapter longer than usual. I normally only write 2 and a half to 3 and a half pages. This time I wrote five. Be proud.**

**Sorry if this chapter is lacking detail. I wrote most of it in one day, and I have to get back into the swing of writing.**

* * *

This is nice. At least, I think it is. I can't really tell.

I don't feel as wasted as I was before (Curse you water!) but I do still feel horrible; physically, at least. My emotions seemed to have called it quits. Physically, I felt his tongue wrestling with mine. I felt his hands brush up against my thighs. And I felt him try to lift my dress to get more access. I felt the tingling sensation of our every movement. How I actually _felt_ about these actions, however? I have no idea.

My blurry vision was starting to clear up a little bit, which I suppose is a good thing. Honestly, it was fun walking around like I was going blind. It was like I was in an alternate universe and I could forget about my real life stress. I liked it, but I am quite curious to how cute this guy is. From the sound of his husky voice, he seems irresistible.

As he tried yet again to hitch up my dress, I took notice that I kept shimmying in an awkward direction every time. I decided that I didn't want to go that far. I'm not sure what came over me exactly, but I knew it was the right decision.

I took his hand and softly pushed it in front of his lower abdomen.

"Idon'twannagothatfaryet, ya know? I want the clothes to stay…like…on." I slurred. I noticed something in his face change, and I had to squint to detect his smirk.

"Sure, babe, whatever you say." he promised with his honest (and hot) voice while he ran his hands through my hair. As he captured my lips in another kiss, I felt myself slip and collide with the soft carpeted floor and onto my back, enjoying the thrill of the room spinning around me and him sliding above me.

Aaaand…back to making out we go.

Yet, there was something else in the air that gave off negative electricity. It's like my conscious was controlling the scenery. Why is my conscious bugging me anyway? This is no big deal. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna sleep with this guy. Why do I feel so wrong, then?

Must be the alcohol.

* * *

"You _sure _you don't need help?" Mike nagged for the millionth time, as if that would make the situation any better. I stiffly shifted my body from the bent down position I was in, so that I could give him the sharpest glare I could muster. Unfortunately, this idiot wasn't phased. Abruptly, I backed away from what James had brilliantly dubbed, "The Hook Up Room." Really, it would only make sense that James would retreat to this room. I reluctantly gave it to him after having to listen to a night of him complaining about how he got walked in on several times when he was hooking up with Jessica Brennan and the magazines ended up finding out (The Hollywood "It" girl at the time) and gave me the oh so bright idea to give him the extra room that I had honestly forgotten about. I mean, with a house as big as mine, and only me living here, of course there are going to be some empty, abandoned rooms.

Smart move, Cooper.

I forcefully jiggled the door knob for what had to be the millionth time in the past three minutes. With a rush of self-hating emotions raging through me, it was a miracle I was at least able to distinct my annoyance from the rest of the chaos. I desperately pressed my ear to the door, not exactly sure what I wanted to hear.

"I just think that you should let me try. I'm very experienced with this kind of thing." he pressed.

"And you're saying I'm not?" I snapped, ripping my ear away from the silence, not sure whether or not to be disappointed about not hearing anything. Was he questioning my manhood or something? I mean, why _wouldn't _Chad Dylan Cooper be educated in the art of lock-picking? Did Mike with his fancy bar-tenderness think that I was just a pretty boy or something?

Before a defense could come out of his mouth, Tawni stopped the both of us. "Guys, shut up. This is serious. Chad, what about your keys? Where'd you have them last?"

I was ready to shoot back a classic _"If I knew that, I'd have them by now,"_ but my memory hit my senses before my words could. A powerful flashback hit me like a ton of bricks: me tossing the key on the coffee table I never use, in a room that I hardly ever go in.

_Ugh, I'm so stupid. _

The look on their faces alerted me that the look on _my _face gave away the fault that I was internally beating myself up for. Tawni shook her head at me, her blonde locks flying as she did, and rolled her green pupils as well. Mike had a small smirk, which was amazing under the circumstances. Like Tawni said, this is serious.

"Where are they?" he asked obnoxiously while he held back a snicker. I wanted to punch him.

Why is he even here? I paid him, he should be gone.

He must have a crush on Sonny or something.

I hate him.

"The ex-living room," I answered, running my fingers through my hair as I tried to burn a hole through Mike's chest with my eyes.

"You have an _ex_-living room?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, I have an ex-living room. Problem with that?"

He just snickered quietly to himself and looked down at the ground, as if he and the floor had some sort of hilarious inside joke. "Must be nice being so rich for doing absolutely nothing but sleeping with girls who only want you because of your half-way decent show that was canceled five million years ago." he muttered.

Immediately, I felt the suppressed rag rise up out of me. "What? You think you know _one _thing about my life? About how hard I work?" I demanded.

Smoothly, he slid directly in front of me, flashing me a sly smile. "I know more than you think," he said smugly. "Ass," he added.

"_What _did you just s-"

"Guys! Stay focused. Chad, go." Tawni ordered before I could even retaliate.

"B-" I tried.

"Go." she said, even more forcefully this time.

"Whatever." I said, giving up. After all, she was right. I needed to save all of my strength and anger for James and Hayden. Mike wasn't worth it. Rolling my eyes, I sprinted torwards the room, hoping that Mike and Tawni would stay there. I didn't need the two of them breathing down my neck when I was already stressed enough.

I sorta felt like I was in the middle of a horror film as I ran through the dark halls decorated with broken champagne glasses. The hero. I messed up, but I _will _be the hero. I _will _save her. I _won't _be too late. I just can't be.

Funny how James went from being my best friend to my target in less than an hour, and Sonny the opposite.

Finally, I arrived. One step closer to breaking in that room and stop whatever sin was going on in there.

I opened the door and walked through without hesitation, keeping my eyes straight on the coffee table…until I caught something out the corner of my eye that made me jump.

James. Sonny. Couch.

Her dress was crumpled up beside her on the floor.

He was smirking above her. His shirt was off, and he was working on removing his belt.

Neither seemed to notice me.

And James wasn't taking advantage of her. She wasn't putting up a fight or screaming or anything. She was just lying there.

I felt like even more of an idiot. I can't believe I got caught up in this. I can't believe the assumption I made. I can't believe I was caught up in a fantasy land.

After all, this is James. My friend. He wouldn't hurt anyone; not like that.

But…he did lie to me about earlier.

I shook my head, banishing the thought. It was probably only to protect me.

That still doesn't explain why he'd choose _her, _out of all the girls here. Didn't he at least know that I'd be pissed, if not beyond hurt?

"What. The. Hell?" I broke the silence.

Abruptly, both of their heads whipped in my direction wearing wide-eyes.

"Chad!" Sonny screamed, tumbling off of the couch and onto the floor with a thump and an "_Ow._"

"Chad," James stated calmly, staring at me suspiciously, probably trying to figure out what I was feeling, and what I was gonna do about it. "Just…just stay calm, bro."

"Stay _calm?_" I repeated in an even voice. I cupped my ear with my hand and smiled stiffly. "I'm sorry, I thought you just told me to stay calm, when you were about to sleep with my ex-girlfriend. In _my _house."

"Don't put all the blame on me, dude. It's not like she didn't want it." he pointed out, gesturing to the devil herself, cradling her head in her hands and whining over and over again, "Ow, my head."

I glared at her fragile, pathetic, victimized demeanor. She pulled off the whole "damsel in distress" act flawlessly, even when drunk. She even had me worried sick about her and hating myself for not catching on. She fooled me from a distance. It's like she got inside my mind or something. How does that even work?

During the first few months I knew her, I was extremely attracted to her, no matter how much I denied it. I believe I referred to the pull she had on me as "stupid cute."

Now, it's like "stupid cute" multiplied times ten freaking million. Because even now, even as she's on the ground whimpering to herself in a disoriented manner, even though she was about to sleep with my friend, I can't help but feel incredibly attracted to her. And it's not about her looks this time around, either. Not even close.

Why would I be attracted to her personality, though? I mean sure, I'm physically attracted to hot girls who are pro-sleeping around, but emotionally?

"She asked for it, man," James said, slowly backing away from Sonny and snatching his shirt off of the edge of the couch that her elbow was resting on, causing her right arm to fly onto her lap.

"You know how it is. It's not like you've never had a one night's stand. And it's not like you like her or anything, right?"

Frighteningly, I didn't know the answer to that. I stayed silent as he tugged his shirt over his head, put his shoes back on, and yanked his pants up.

"We're still good, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

I took a deep breath and felt myself hold my eyes closed for a few moments, trying to will away my confusion.

"Go home, James." I commanded.

"I'm going, I'm going." he promised, holding his hands up in both a defensive way and a surrendering way as he slowly backed out of the room, leaving me alone with the mess of a tramp that I call my ex-girlfriend…and current maid.

"Owwww." she groaned, still holding her head.

For a few minutes, I just stared at her, taking in the whole situation. I glanced around the room, briefly taking in the burgundy carpet, the pale yellow and red striped walls, and the game systems from years earlier that I had forgotten about.

And then, my eyes landed on Sonny again. Sonny, with her deep red lips, her long, black hair, her long legs, and her annoying, yet seductive moans.

"Get dressed and follow me." I said impulsively. "Mmhmmmm." she groaned in response, quickly hopping into her black and white dress but forgetting her shoes, stockings, and jewelry.

By the time I was down the hall, she was running behind me, trying her best to fall in step with me.

"Try to keep up, will you?" I said obnoxiously, scoffing at her.

"W-Where are we g-going?" she sniffled. I stopped to look back at her, seeing as she sounded like she was about to cry. I was right.

"We're going upstairs." I answered curtly.

"Why?" she asked desperately. I don't intend to answer.

Sprinting down the hallway didn't feel like a horror movie anymore. Now, it felt like I've almost reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, I know, even after tonight, the light won't be all that bright.

_Clock, clock, clock._

"What happened?" Tawni asked. I snapped my head around, and motioned for Tawni to continue following us.

"Where's _Mike?_" I asked, spitting his name.

"Gone. He told me to call him tomorrow though for the deets." she explained, keeping up speed perfectly. We would be in complete silence if it wasn't for Sonny's stifled sobbing and incoherent blubbering. I braced myself for Tawni's interrogation that I knew was coming soon.

"What's wrong with her? What happened? Is she okay? She's not okay, is she? What happened to James? Is he dead? Did you kill him? Do we have to go through another trial? You know how much I hate the court system and lawsuits after what happened last time." she ranted, referring to last year when she got sued for stealing something from a store. She ended up being innocent, but still. Celebrities have enough attention targeted torwards them.

"Long story. I don't feel like talking about it." I said. She opened her mouth to protest, but clomped it shut by the stern look on my face.

Too soon enough, we were in the living room, where Hayden stood with two girls clinging to him. One was bleach blonde with orange skin and a trashy outfit. The other had dark skin, long jet black hair, major cleavage and a puppy in her purse. Both of them looked familiar: I saw them all evening hanging on Hayden's every word. It was sickening.

"Ugh, I forgot all about him." I groaned. He looked up, seemingly amused. I guess we must have looked funny to him. I was most likely walking as if I was on a mission, which I really was. I knew for sure how Tawni looked. Imagine a model who can't find her way to the runway when she's actually standing right on it, and trying to read a book at the same time. And Sonny? Her face was red, she kept freaking sniffling, her mascara was running down her face, and she kept stumbling.

"Wow, you're still here, Hayden? Really? The party was over two hours ago. No where else to go? Shame. You know, there's a homeless shelter a few blocks away." I said, quite proud of myself for the spontaneous insult.

"Aw, Chad, don't be jealous just because I've been more famous than you for…what's it been, almost three years now?" he boasted causing the girls sitting beside him to giggle idiotically.

I rolled my eyes as harshly as I could. "Just get out of my house, Hayden." I ordered.

"Fine, fine, whatever. We've got a better party to go to anyway. One that _doesn't _end a few minutes before midnight." he bragged. "Lame." he whispered to the girls, causing them to giggle again.

"Just go, okay? I don't have time for this."

"Because hauling the effed up, drunk, slutty stalker is much more important than defending your mockery of a party, right?"

"Don't you _dare _call-"

"I don't feel so good…"

As if on cue, Sonny moaned and bent over, clutched her stomach, and puked all over Hayden's expensive shoes.

"Ew!" the girls squealed, immediately jumping away from Hayden's side.

"Ahh, some of it got on my blouse!" one yelled in disgust.

"Gross, some of it got on my purse!" the other one complained.

"Shut up about your stupid clothes! They're not even real, or classy! And they make you look like tramps."

They gasped simultaneously. "How dare you!" one yelled.

"I thought we had something special!" the other exclaimed.

"Come on, Lucy. We don't need him. Everybody knows that _Zac Efron _is _way _hotter and more famous than him."

Lucy made a _humph _noise and joined arms with her friend, walking out the door and not looking back.

"Wait, ladies, I didn't mean it like that!" Hayden yelled, chasing after them. Tawni shut the door behind them and locked it.

"Well, that was fun." she commented. I couldn't do anything but laugh and shake my head. He's so pathetic.

Speaking of pathetic, Sonny was wiping her mouth off with her sleeve. Miraculously, my floor remained clean.

"Help me get her upstairs?" I asked Tawni.

"No way. I've had enough exercise for the night. I'm gonna go home. Tell me how it works out, kay? Kay." and with a few sophisticated swings of her hips, she was out the door.

Yet again, I was alone with Sonny.

I groaned. "Come on, Sonshine. We're going to your room."

"Yay." she moaned. I don't know whether she intended it to be sarcastic or enthusiastic.

I wound her left arm around my neck, put my hand on her thigh, and lifted her; carrying her bridal style up the stairs, trying to brush off how good it felt to have her in my arms.

Finally, I dumped her on her bed. Her dark, wavy hair flew as she landed.

"Mmm, you're so strong." she cooed. I only momentarily did I feel my heart speed up and my cheeks grow warm, then I disregarded it. She's drunk. Even if she wasn't, would a comment like that really matter to me? At all?

Ignoring her, I journeyed into her massive closet, dragging her gray suitcase out and stuffing whatever belonging of her's I could find.

"What are you doing?" she asked with her hazel eyes half-open.

"Packing," I answered, throwing a pile of pants into the bag. "I've had enough. You're fired. You leave tomorrow."


	24. Trainwreck

**Sorry to keep you waiting again, guys! I've got a _lot _going on right now. And I've been a horrible fanfiction'er lately as well. I don't think I've read any fics in about two weeks. I miss it. **

**And since I haven't read any fics, I haven't heard your opinion on the last episode of Sonny with a Chance. Love it? Like it? Hate it? **

**I absolutely adored the part at the hospital, when Chad was all, "I love...I love..."**

**That was seriously amazing. **

**The singing part kinda creeped me out though.**

**Alright, enough with my talking to myself. Well, you guys, but right now, it's myself. **

**ANYWAY, on with the chapter. **

* * *

_Mmm…what happened last night?_

I feel like crap. No, that's an understatement.

Imagine how you would feel if someone took a dull knife, cut your head open slowly, and placed one-hundred pounds of white hot coals inside your head. Then, they placed the speakers of a very large music system right next to your ears and played the music you hate the most at a volume of one-thousand.

Think that sucks? Oh, it gets even better.

They then took two dull sticks with thorns on them and jammed them into you eyes and twisted them around. At some point before you woke up they placed about ten gallons of the most vile smelling vomit in your bed.

Now to the stomach. Imagine you ate a plate of three day old sushi that had been sitting in the sun, washed down by lukewarm buttermilk.

You know how gross and bitter child's medicine tastes, correct? Imagine having that taste

Lovely, right?

Not.

That's how I was woken up.

Well, that, and my louder-than-usual alarm clock.

My dreams were interrupted with a beeping so loud that I thought my head was going to explode. It interrupted my shaky yet peaceful dreams with its blaring siren.

Okay, usually, alarm clocks are annoying. Everyone knows that. But this time, it was so unbelievably and unexpectedly painful that it was ripping my head open.

Stiffly, I moved my arm to hit it as hard as possible so I could shut it off.

Sitting up, I groaned. So _this _is what a hangover feels like. I guess people weren't being overdramatic the day after drinking large amounts of alcohol after all.

Which is pretty much all I remember. Me drinking. Then it gets fuzzy…and then it just stops. I have no idea what happened last night. I could have married the president's wife for all I know.

My head was pounding and my stomach was doing summersaults. The taste of pennies took over my mouth.

Oh, crap.

Forcing my body to move, I ran to the bathroom and clutched the toilet as my insides were forcing their way out of me.

It's official: I am _never _drinking again.

I whined to myself in disgust as I wiped off my mouth and began to brush my teeth. Not just disgust at the obvious, but disgust at myself for drinking so much. My mom definitely taught me better.

Ugh, if she could see me now…she'd be so disappointed. She'd tell me that it was stupid to risk my sanity for her. To submit to my cheating ex-boyfriend. To get wasted at a Hollywood party, and whatever other crap I've done while intoxicated.

Speaking of, there still hasn't been any bad news from the doctor, so I guess that's a comfort.

Only one more week…

As soon as I set one foot outside of the bathroom, I noticed something majorly off with my room. It looked abnormally clean, and I'm positive that I didn't do it.

My dresser was seriously wiped clean of all makeup, jewelry, tissues, everything. My closet door was wide open, revealing empty racks where my clothes used to be; including the ones Elyse gave.

Quickly, I scurried to my dresser and checked the drawers.

Sock and underwear drawer? Empty.

Pajama drawer? Empty.

Random-stuff-that-I-threw-in-because-I-couldn't-find-a-place-for-it drawer? Empty.

Have we been robbed?

Suddenly, my eyes landed on the neat stack of gray suitcases arranged at the corner of my room. I eyed them suspiciously before ripping the top one open to find my folded clothes.

I picked up the purple t-shirt and held it to my chest. What the crap is going on?

Chad.

Infuriated (which didn't exactly help my already pounding head), I impulsively bolted out of my room and down the steps, ignoring my aching body. I could feel a few bruises on me and I had no idea how they got there. I had a negative-two-percent recollection of the night before. I wanted to lose control for a night, but apparently I lost so much control that I just don't know what's going on. I'm so confused.

Thankfully, I have a feeling that Chad knows what's up. And speak of the devil, there he is, sitting down at the kitchen table, pigging out on pizza and soda.

"Chad…" I started, approaching him apprehensively, holding my head. Without even looking at me, he replied.

"About time for you to get up." he grumbled impolitely, glancing at his wristwatch.

I really don't have time for his attitude. I don't think I even care about his mood swings anymore. It's just too much drama.

Let's cut right to the chase. "Why are my bags packed?"

Now, he looked up. My eyes locked with his deep, cold blue ones. A shiver ran down my spine. Out of fear? Out of anger? Out of annoyance? Out of…dare I say, attraction? Or something even more than that?

Smoothly, he reached for his soda and took a nice, long, taunting sip before he answered me.

"Because you're going home." he replied simply with his hands folded.

"_What?_" I exclaimed incredulously, feeling my tongue stress the letter _t. _"Why would I be doing _that?_" Briefly, my mind flashbacked to the hell of a state I call Wisconsin. There was no way I'd go there any sooner than I needed to. And it had only been a week. I must be hallucinating or something. "I need to sit down…" I muttered to myself, feeling my hangover symptoms worsen. I sat on a stool near the counter and rested my head on the top of the brown, marble texture.

"Because you're fired."

My hands slapped the counter and my head sprang up immediately. The dead look in his eyes told me that he was serious.

"What? Why? What did I do? I have a week left. This can't be happening. You can't do this. You can't, you can't, you can't. No. Crap. I feel sick…" I blubbered, clutching both my stomach and my head at the same time as my body tortured me. A whole new reality entered my head that I had never anticipated: me going home. Is this how the people on American Idol feel when they're sent home? They had plans. Dreams. And then all of a sudden, they're gone. This _can't _happen to me. Strangely enough, this place is keeping me sane. Well, as sane as I could be. _And _this not only helps me, but my mom too! He can't…just…_kill _my mom. And weirdly enough, it feels like I have some sort of sick purpose here, and I haven't fully fulfilled it yet. I have to stay.

"Drink this," he offered, pushing a cup to me. I didn't break eye contact with him and gave him my best pleading look as I gripped the glass cup. I looked down. It was some weird green concoction, and I was surprised it wasn't bubbling.

"What the hell is it?" I asked angrily.

"Just drink it," he commanded dryly, accompanied by an eye roll.

"No! Tell me why I'm fired!"

"Drink it."

"Stop screaming!" I wailed, shielding my ears. "Tell me!"

"I'm not screaming!" he yelled. "Well. Now I am. Whatever. Drink." he said, torturing my eardrums.

"Tell."

"Drink."

"Tell."

"_Drink._" he said forcefully this time, pushing the cup even closer to me. I looked at him suspiciously before downing it. A part of me thought it might be poison, but if that was the case, I don't care if I die anymore.

It tasted awful. It had to be poison. It took all of my willpower not to throw it back up.

"You trying to poison me?" I accused, wiping my mouth, hoping that the horrible taste would diminish.

"It's a remedy for hangovers." he explained. "Nasty, but it works."

I looked at him, and then the cup, and then him, and then the cup, and then him. How could he drop such a bomb on me and then give me _this _crap, and talk to me like everything's perfectly fine?

Reluctantly, I sipped the cup; slowly this time. Surprisingly, I must have gotten used to the vile taste, because I finished the whole thing under his watchful eye without gagging.

"Now," I said, my head spinning from the news, but healing from the drink. "Why exactly am I _fired?_" I exclaimed a little louder than I intended to.

"You know why," he snarled, walking away.

"No, I don't," I said, following him into the living room which was still trashed from last night.

"Whatever, Sonny. Look, I don't have time for this. Just go." he ordered, waving me off as if I was a cloud of flies.

I let out a dry laugh. "No way. You should at least have the decency to tell me why you're firing me. Because I'm pretty sure I did _everything _right. I dusted your pool, cleaned your room, picked lint off the carpet," I listed with my fingers. "All of the idiotic tasks you had me do, I did them. So _why?_" I ranted, feeling tears spring to my eyes.

For a moment, he didn't answer. The air was tension-filled and I was impatiently waiting for his explanation. We both just stood there for what felt like hours, staring at each other expectantly. As of now, whatever happens, happens. Like I said, I don't care anymore. I just want my mom to be okay.

Finally, he replied. "Last night." he snarled.

"Care to elaborate?" I prompted. "What exactly happened last night?"

"Like you don't know," he scoffed. "Don't try to play that whole innocent doe-eyed trick. Not gonna work this time."

"Chad, I'm serious. I don't remember anything. What did I do last night that was so bad that you'd _fire _me? Did I step on the mayor's foot or something?"

Again, he didn't answer right away, as if he was trying to collect his words. That didn't seem to work out for him though, because he uttered only one.

"James."

And at that exact moment, I got a major dose of dejavu. That name came out of my mouth recently. The feelings I must have had when I uttered it last came rushing back to me. It made me scared. It made me want to curl up in a ball. It made me want to run away.

"Wait…" I said, holding my head. But this time, it wasn't because it was throbbing. It was because my memory was slowly but surely coming back to me.

I remember talking to the bartender…Mike. That was his name. Mike. And then a guy came over to me and asked me to dance…the next thing I remember, I was in a room, we were making out, he was on top of me…

**

_Flashback: _

I recognized the face. "James!" I yelped, surprised. All he did was smirk and continue touching my body. I tried to get up. I tried to head for the door. He stopped me. He grabbed my wrist and pushed me on the couch.

"No…I don't want to…" I said weakly. The alcohol was still taking its toll on me.

"Should've thought about that before you came in here with me, huh?" he pointed out. I didn't say anything. "Once a tease, always a tease, I guess." he said while he positioned himself over me. I screamed. He silenced me by kissing me. Hard. He forced his tongue into my mouth. I tried to push him off; tried to fight back. He was stronger than me. I tried to scream again. He slapped me.

"Just lie perfectly still…" he cooed. I didn't have a choice. Even if I wasn't intoxicated, I wouldn't have enough strength to fight him off. Maybe I should have taken karate like my mom suggested.

And then, somewhere after that time, Chad came in. I rolled off of the couch and onto the floor. Chad was mad. He made James leave.

I was on the ground, I was holding my head, I was scared.

But I was okay.

**

"You saved me…" I whispered, gazing at him unbelievingly. His marvelous blue eyes squinted in confusion.

"You still drunk?"

I shook my head slowly. The realization was still coming over me.

"You stopped James." I stared at him in awe.

"What?" he scoffed. "I didn't stop him or save you from anything."

"Yes, you did." I pushed.

"No." he said, stopping to stare at me for a few seconds. "Wait, are you trying to say that he was like raping you or something? Don't pull that card, Sonny. I was there. You were just as willing as he was." _Bull! _He must have come in before the struggle.

"No, that's not what happened. Not at all." I said slowly. He didn't regress. He stayed in his firm, disbelieving stance, glaring at me with doubt. My hands snapped to my side and I said with attitude, "Really? You don't believe me? Really?"

"Don't steal my line!" he spazzed.

"I'll use your line all I want! I'm fired, anyway! You can't tell me what to do anymore!" I yelled.

"Well then, you're not fired! But you are! Well, not until you leave this house anyway!"

"You can't make me leave just because of that, Chad! Even if I did sleep with James willingly, what's the big deal? What are you, jealous?"

He scoffed ridiculously. "Psh, no. Why would I be jealous? I'm just sick of the emotional struggle you put me through!"

"Emotional struggle?" I repeated, using air quotes. "Really, Chad, really? Sounds like something you'd hear on one of those lame talk shoes. Plus, one has to actually _care _about the other person to be put through, quote, emotional struggle." I argued. Part of me wanted it to all stop right there. Part of me wanted him to soften; to say, "I do care." and for us to pick up right where we left off.

Yeah, right.

Then, he calmed. "I _do _care." I felt myself grow hopeful and my heart beating erratically. And as cliché as this sounds, I heard music; beautiful, beautiful, music.

"About my friends. I didn't bring you here to get laid. I brought you here to _work _for _me. _Not to sleep with my best friend."

It all stopped like a train wreck. So much for that.

I folded my arms against my chest angrily and defensively. The fabric rubbed up against them, and it finally clicked that I was still wearing my dress from yesterday. "For that last freaking time, Chad, I _didn't _sleep with him. I didn't _want _to sleep with him. I almost did though. It wasn't willingly." I looked up at him, feeling the tears start to flow now. He still wasn't convinced.

"Prove it."

"You want details? Fine. I did go in the room with him willingly, yes. I made out with him. I was drunk, but I still had no intentions of going farther. He tried to undress me but I told him no. Then it was okay…until I recognized him. I told him to stop, but he didn't. I ran for the door, but he stopped me. He pushed me on the couch. I tried to fight him off, but it didn't work. He hit me and told me that if I just stay still, it will all be over sooner. I was too weak so I listened to him. I guess you walked in shortly after that."

Chad was silent. I gaped at him with watery eyes. I fiercely wiped my tears away so I could see him better. His demeanor was hard and cold and unreadable. At this point, it could pan out either way. Both of the situations were horrible, but one would at least turn out good for someone else: my mom. I waited, and waited, and waited. It felt like an eternity.

Finally, he replied. He started off stuttering, as if the words were still processing. "I…you…"

"Me."

"You…I don't know what to believe."

I thought for a few moments; digging in my head to find the right words. Suddenly, it clicked.

"Chad...you're an actor." I started. "You've worked with other actors. You know when they're acting and when they're not by just looking at them. You told me a long time ago that you can tell when the people you've been with the most are lying by doing that too." I reminded him. "Now look at me. Do I look like I'm lying?"

He took my words in, then scanned me very slowly. His eyes were squinted so narrow that they were practically slits. It didn't have to put on a convincing face or face my body in any certain way to make myself seem more believable. I just stood there was I was, arms across my chest, leaving only to wipe the wetness off of my face. With each increasing second, his eyes widened a bit more. I tried to keep eye contact with him the best I could, but I swear, his now fully opened ice blue eyes were all over the place.

"You don't." he said, breaking the silence. "You're not lying…" he sighed, brushing his blonde bangs back. I shook my head.

"Wow…okay…" he plopped down on the couch, blown away, overwhelmed.

"Yeah. Okay." I sighed, sitting at the other end.

"I guess…you can stay." he breathed. I felt a burst of hope ignite in me.

"Thanks." I acknowledged.

And that's all that needed to be said. We sat in a comfortable silence, just soaking in everything. We stared straight ahead at his intricate and modern design and the mess decorating it. I knew that I had to clean it up eventually. I knew that soon, I had to unpack all of my stuff and arrange them back in my room. I had to hang up all the clothes, put back my amenities, and worst of all...clean toilets.

But for now, the drama was over. There was this weird sense of harmony surrounding us. It was the peaceful calm after the destructive storm.

I couldn't help but look over at him. Why did he get so mad about it? Why would he be willing to fire me for something that shallow? His explanation didn't make sense. _Was _he jealous?

Without warning, my stomach erupted. I threw my hands over my mouth and began to dash for the bathroom. So much for Chad's oh-so-brilliant "remedy."

"I'm going to be sick…"


	25. Dr Cooper Strikes Again

**As you can see, I've been majorly lacking with my updates lately. BUT I have an excuse! I'm currently working on a really awesome Channy oneshot that you shall see soon. Even without that distraction, though, most of my updates will probably take around a two week period. Sorry!**

**Other than that...you guys have to help me. My kitchen is being re-done, so I can't go downstairs into the living room because the kitchen is blocking it, which is where the tv is that holds our extra channels, like DISNEY CHANNEL. **

**For the past one or two sundays I've missed Sonny with a Chance. So...were there any good Channy episodes? If so, what were they so I can look them up on youtube?**

**Gracias (:**

* * *

The rest of the day's events went by without extreme incident. It could be referred to as serene, peaceful even. I should know better than to classify it as that, but I did anyway.

At first, I didn't know what to believe about last night. Sonny could have easily twisted the story to manipulate me as she always does, and for a while, I was pretty sure that's what was going on. Of course the moment I keep my guard firmly up, she's telling the truth, sending it crashing down.

For some weird reason, I felt like I owed her for the drama this morning. That's the only reason why I held her hair while she puked for the fifth time today, and why I sent her to rest afterwards, excusing her from work. Instead, I hired a cleaning service to take care of it. I honestly don't know why or how I expected her to do it all by herself. The mess was too overwhelming for one person to handle.

Although, that might not be the only reason why I spent the past twenty minutes pacing the hallway, working up the courage to go in her room and see if she's okay. I really just want to…talk to her.

Ever since she got here, we haven't had a chance to have a good, honest chat. It's all been hostility and fights and orders and complaints. Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment, I don't care. I just feel a burning need to know what the difference is between Allison and Sonny.

Like always, a glimpse at myself in the mirror gave me the confidence needed to enter the room. I'd knock first, of course. I wouldn't wanna re-create the awkwardness what happened this time yesterday.

I tapped my knuckles to the door a few times; softly, just in case she was sleeping. When she didn't answer, I cracked the door open slightly and peeked inside. I was right, she _was _sleep.

Regardless, I walked inside, made sure she was covered up well, and pulled up a dark, wooden chair beside the bed.

I studied her carefully. There was no doubt that she was asleep. She was lying on her side, facing me. Her dark eyelashes accented her pale, unmoving face. Her dark, wavy hair was sprawled across the jet black pillows. I knew from earlier that it was just as soft feeling as it was previously. Her body steadily moved up and down with her breath. She looked so calm…so undisturbed. This may sound cheesy, but she looked absolutely angelic. And after today…I had to wonder…was she as innocent as she looks ?

No. I'm over thinking things now. Both James and Sonny were drunk last night. I need to stop letting my wishful thinking get the best of me. A surge of rage ran through my body as my mind landed on the thought of everything that happened last night. James was drunk and a pig, I get that. But she said he hit her, and I definitely don't doubt that, since there was a circular shaped pink bruise on her cheek. It's going to take me a _long _time to forgive James for that one.

I couldn't help but fall into my reminiscing about the past. When I thought about the party that destroyed our relationship, I get angry. But when I think about everything before that…I feel happy. Then, I get pissed all over again when I remember that during that "happy" time of ours, she was cheating on me with Hayden, and who knows who else.

But that was in the past, right? I know better now. And right now, I don't feel like I'm in much of a vengeful mood. All of the drama, the confusion, the anger I've endured the past week…it's just too much. There's no harm in that.

I mean, yeah, I've dealt with drama…even though most of the drama I've "dealt" with was fictional, and I was playing another person. Truth be told, I've had a pretty amazing life.

Suddenly, I had an epiphany. Maybe that's why Sonny cheating on me bothered me so much. It was the only flaw in my life. The only flaw in _me. _That's why I was never able to forget it. That's why it consumed me so much that I felt the need to find her and bring her back.

But right now, I don't feel like that. Chad Dylan Cooper just wants to chill for a while. What's the harm in that?

Somewhere during the midst of me studying her features, she woke up. Her body stirred unsettlingly. She was tossing and turning as if she was having a bad dream. I heard a disturbed groan escape from her throat before her hazel eyes parted slowly, then popped open into a huge circular shape. I took notice of how creepy I might look to her; sitting on a chair that I pulled close to her bed, my hands folded neatly across my lap as I stared straight ahead at her.

"Hey," I said, for some reason nervous. "I see you're awake," I observed. Way to be all Captain Point Out The Obvious, Chad.

She nodded limply in reply while the side of her head was still deeply buried into the pillow. Immediately afterwards, her hands sprung to her head, cradling her head and whimpering in pain.

"It's six in the evening now, you know. Hangovers don't usually last this long." I pointed out, trying not to sound too concerned. It's not that I was…I just didn't want her to think she had a hold over me. She easily picked up that I was jealous earlier. But really, what guy wouldn't be jealous or angry about his best friend hooking up with his ex? It's perfectly natural.

"You would know, huh?" she croaked, followed by an annoyed groan. "Ugh. My throat…"

"Yeah, you sound horrible." I agreed.

"Thanks, Chad. Thanks." she said.

My ears perked up. "Do I sense sarcasm?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up into an upright position, causing the sun from the window to beat down on her in a heavenly way, turning her pale skin a pretty yellow color. I had to divert my eyes to the wall behind her so I wouldn't get caught up in how undoubtedly alluring she looks. _Pull yourself together, Cooper. This is how she almost got you last time._

"I'd hope so." she said with force, followed by a frustrated sigh. "I feel awful." she confessed.

"What hurts?" I asked.

Again, she sighed dramatically. "Everything."

For some reason, as soon as she uttered those words, I felt that I hold full responsibility for her health, and that it is my duty to take care of her.

What can I say? I'm a knight in sterling armor.

"Oh no," she huffed after briefly studying my face. "You're not gonna go all Dr. Cooper on me, are you?"

I didn't answer her. I tried to keep my expression blank as I started to leave the room. I felt her eyes burning into my back as I walked.

Less than thirty seconds later, I returned, object in hand.

"A thermometer?" she croaked as I approached her. "Really, Chad? Really?"

"Yes, really."

"You really don't have to," she said as she slowly edged away from me as if she was terrified of the stick in my hand. I rolled my eyes.

"Just shut up and stick this in your mouth," I said, handing it to her. She glared at my hand hesitantly before accepting.

"Fine." she grumbled.

"Fine!" I snapped.

"Good!!" she screeched, voice cracking.

"Good!" I retorted.

"Whatever." she sighed in defeat, about to pop it in her mouth.

"Thank you," I sighed, fainting back into the wooden chair as if the exchange extracted my last bit of strength. Yet again, she rolled her eyes.

"I really don't see why this is a big deal, Chad." she said, holding the cold thermometer in her hand but not putting it in her mouth. She continued. "I know you, and you're gonna go _way _too far with this. And I refuse to let you take my temperature, because then you'll be going way overboard trying to take care of me. Remember back when I started to develop my allergies?"

I couldn't help but grin as the memories overtook my mind.

She was spending the day at my house about two years ago when all of a sudden, she had a painful-looking sneezing fit. I, being the caring boyfriend that I am, took very good care of her, against her will.

Okay…so maybe I acted like she had three hours to live and I was a skilled surgeon…

But still.

Hey, it's the thought that counts.

"And another thing, I've lived practically on my own for a very long time now, and I've gotten sick before, and I know what I feel like when I have a high temperature. In fact, I bet I don't have a temperature at all! I'll bet you a million bucks that it comes out 98.6, exactly. And you're just-" And with a soft popping sound, the thermometer slid in, stopping her rant (thank God). I held it in there for a few extra seconds just in case her hands flew to snatch it out as soon as I inserted it. I raised my eyebrows at her in a challenging way. My expression dared, _Do you _really _wanna do that?_

She sighed in defeat and relaxed her rising hands until they were back at her sides.

"Good girl," I cooed, earning a sharp glare from her. "Want some food?" I asked innocently, ignoring her daggers. She must have been pretty starving, because as soon as my words registered, her look softened, her eyes widened, and she rapidly nodded her head up and down.

"Whoa, simmer down, Sonny. Wouldn't want the thermometer to fall out."

Her head stopped shaking and she stared at me. She didn't need to speak; I knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. It was most likely something along the lines of…_Simmer down? Really, Chad? Really?_

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up." I said with a knowing smirk before leaving the room.

Three minutes later, I returned with bacon pizza for me, and chicken noodle soup for her. I set the bowl and paper plate down on the small table beside the bed. I walked up to Sonny, about to take the thermometer out. Before I got a chance to, she already snatched it out of her mouth and began to read the result herself.

"See? I'm only…104 degrees." she read in a prideful manner, the number not registering yet. The _told-you-so_ look slid right off her face seconds later. "Oh."

104 degrees?!

I tried to hide how alarmed I was. Nervously, I scratched the back of my head. "I do believe you owe me a million bucks." I smirked.

"How can I be 104? I don't feel that sick!" she exclaimed, banging her hands down on the soft mattress in disbelief and frustration.

"Hangovers don't give fevers," I stated simply, shaking my head.

"No, really?" she snapped sarcastically.

"Did you feel sick earlier? Like, before you started drinking?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually." she replied thoughtfully. "I had a headache and I was going to go to bed…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"Why didn't you?" I prompted, sitting on the bed, beside her. I shook my head to brush my blonde bangs out of my eyes.

She brushed her dark locks out of her face and seemed to formulate the right way to put her words. "I was…Tawni…"

"Tawni? What does Tawni have to do with anything?" I interrupted.

"She…well…" she sighed, then looked at me straight in the eyes with the most serious expression. It took be by surprise and I felt myself jump a little.

"You know Hayden and I didn't actually do anything, right?"

I felt the right side of my lips turn up into a slight smile. "Yeah. I know."

"Good." she barely whispered.

"Good." I agreed.

"So…are we…good?" she asked, and I knew she meant it literally. She seriously wanted to know if we were okay. And, to be honest, so did I.

I leaned to the left slightly to put our food out in front of us, pushed her soup torwards her, looked her straight in the eyes, and replied with a mischievous yet honest smirk, "I guess. For now."


	26. Peace Is A Lie

**I think it is now safe to declare that I, Imani Akemi, suck with updates. I said two weeks, and I'm pretty sure it's been three. I mean really, of _course _I'd start having a life right when the story really starts to get...what's the word? Exciting? Maybe. It's almost 3 in the morning, and I'm tired, and I suck with words right now. I'm surprised I was able to finish this chapter. **

**In conclusion, please forgive me and my sucky-update-ness. I caught up on SWAC episodes, by the way, but I missed last Sunday's. Anyone wanna fill me in, or tell me what the episode name is so I can look it up on youtube? Gracias (:**

* * *

On most days, I've been woken up in pain and annoyance. A vast difference from how I woke up back home: feeling numb. This time, I experienced neither. I didn't wake up with a blaring alarm clock, or pain induced from a hangover, or Chad's obnoxious voice. All I heard was the soft humming of the vacuum downstairs; the cleaning service was still there. Apparently, the mess was bigger than either of us thought.

No, I woke up peaceful and content, which is exactly how I felt yesterday evening.

I pointed out to Chad that soup might not help dull down my fever. It wasn't dangerously high, but it wasn't exactly healthy either. So, he left the room again without explanation, returning with advil, apple juice, and amazing…perfect…cookie dough icecream.

He won me over as soon as I saw the sprinkles on top of the TV tray.

While the medicine worked its magic, Chad and I just…talked. We were lying on the bed flat on our back, looking up at the ceiling. I was under the blanket, he was on top.

We talked about what I've done, what he's done…everything. Well, not exactly everything. We carefully steered around anything having to do with my old life here, Tawni, and most importantly, us. It was so weird, lying in the bed, in his _house_, talking about his old projects and his future projects, and me talking about all of the rambunctious and sometimes ungrateful costumers at my uncle's restaurant. Our conversations were so new, so unfamiliar, yet it felt like old times. Or maybe old times in a new way. It was like a child's favorite toy, and then, when the child has children of their own, they see the toy again with a new, weird, slightly sickening spin on it.

The last thing I remember is me asking about his mother. He was telling me about all of the crazy parties he's been to, which made me wonder about his mom. He was always a momma's boy, and Mrs. Cooper expressed many times that she wanted to keep him grounded, even though I always sensed a faint look in her eye that revealed that she knew that it wasn't working. I'm sure his mom would have put up a fight anyway if she ever found out about all of the crazy things Chad has done. Even if Chad never told her, I'm sure they must have been all over the magazines.

What I wasn't expecting was his answer. His loving, dedicated mother cheated on Mr. Cooper with a younger man, no more than five years older than Chad, and now resides in some tropical island thousands of miles away. Her and Chad haven't spoken in two years.

I looked over at him then, sensing much more vulnerability from him than I've seen in the past week. Hearing that, although very sad, made him seem…human. I had always imagined him as the big bad wolf. The guy who destroyed my life and who was seemingly invincible. But after that, it was like he was an innocent bystander, just minding his own business while the big bad wolf blew down all of the poor little pig's houses.

He quickly followed the news up with this: "It doesn't matter. It wasn't anything new. In the past few years, I've lost a lot of people who were really important to me."

I felt myself melt a little inside. Also, I couldn't help but wonder if I was one of them. But I didn't dare ask.

Minutes later, my new, favorable opinion of him was torn down like a California earthquake would a tiny shed with his unknowingly self-destructive words. Maybe for a moment, he mistook me for one of his guy friends, because he laughed and said something very pig-headed about the girls he sees at the parties he goes to, and how that somehow makes up for all the crappy stuff in his life.

Idiot.

Other than that, the night went smoothly.

The hum of the vacuum continued to sing to me. However, my serene mood was shaken out of control the second I turned over.

Chad.

Was.

In.

My.

Bed.

I didn't even have time to take in his slightly ruffled, out of place blonde hair, the bit of drool escaping his mouth, or the melodic rhythm of his breathing. Only for a brief moment I felt myself warm at how right it felt for his face to be the first thing I see, and then I freaked. I heard myself let out a girlish squeal and tumbled out of the bed and onto the carpeted floor, which thankfully cushioned my fall.

Unfortunately, it still hurt. As my leg came down, it dragged the lamp beside the bed down with it, causing a louder-than-needed, taunting domino effect. I cringed, hoping the banging noises would stop before Chad wakes up. I didn't know why I wanted him to stay sleep, I just did. Maybe it was so I could chill, let myself think for a while.

Sadly, my silent prayers were not answer. Chad stirred with a load groan and audible yawn. His legs became tangled in the sheets before he popped his eyes opened and sat up.

I saw his cold, tired, ice blue eyes scan the room for anything out of the ordinary. The action felt so routine, like I'd seen him do it a million times. Eh, I guess it is possible that I might have dreamt with it when I was still going through Chad Withdrawal - A pathetic part of my life that I definitely do not want to relive.

Finally, his eyes fell on the mess surrounding me…and well, me.

"What are you doing on the floor?" he asked in a groggy voice.

My eyes met with his and I did not waver. I remembered how I fell asleep: drugged and exhausted at only 8PM. He was wide awake. He had plenty of time to relocate. It's not like we both crashed at the same time.

I raised a perfectly plucked (Thanks, Elyse) eyebrow. "What are you doing in my bed?" I countered.

He was only taken aback for a brief moment before regaining his composure. He smirked his infamous smirk. "I was hoping you'd notice."

I rolled my eyes. "How could I not? You snore like a pig."

He chuckled sarcastically. "No, I don't."

"How would you know?" I challenged. The words flowed out of my mouth so naturally. I didn't even have to think about it. Arguing with Chad was just a way of life.

"Because girls never complain about it." he said simply. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy and annoyance at what he was implying.

"You're disgusting." I spat, rolling myself into an upright position and shaking my hair out of my face.

"And _you_ have morning breath. Seriously, I can smell it all the way from over here." he complained, fanning his nose.

I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I didn't bother doing a breath check. I raced straight to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best approach. Maybe I should have acted more I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-me.

Oh well.

I was in the middle of brushing and had my purple toothbrush in my mouth when Chad peeked in, hanging from the door frame with a slight smirk on his face. "I was kidding, you know."

I rolled my eyes, hoping to convey the message of _It's not like I wasn't going to brush my teeth anyway._

He shrugged and left the room.

"Feeling better?" he asked as I came out of the bathroom minutes later, breath undoubtedly fresh.

"Honestly, I forgot I was sick in the first place." I shrugged. "Must've been a twenty-four hour bug or something."

"Cool, so you're totally better?" he checked, and I couldn't help but check _him. _Out. As much as I hate to admit it, he looked awfully adorable just waking up. It must be the whole wolf in sheep clothing thing.

His blonde hair was ruffled and out of place, in a good way. His blue eyes popped more than usual. Maybe it was the sun? And his clothes were wrinkled in a somehow elegant way.

…Which brings us to his thin, white undershirt.

I realized I hadn't replied yet and quickly snatched my eyes from his upper torso before he noticed and called me out on it. "I have a tiny headache and I feel a little sniffly, but that's about it."

For a moment, he looked like he was thinking. "Hmm…well, maybe all you need is a little fresh air."

When he said that, my immediate theory of what he had in mind was me doing my daily duties, you know, making beds, organizing the fridge, only…with the window open! Or maybe even me running an errand for him.

I was wrong.

What he meant was the two of us going shopping. _Together. _"I was gonna send you out by yourself, but I don't want you to get the wrong stuff. Plus, I have nothing better to do today. Might as well join you." he said.

And with that, we went our separate ways in preparation. I didn't know whether to be excited or scared. This was definitely going to be a change, and maybe I needed that. I also knew that Chad's good mood might not last long, and we'll probably end up getting into a serious fight before the day's over.

And if we didn't, I had even more of a reason to be afraid.

I was hoping that I was ready before Chad so I could brag and maybe even tease him by calling him a girl. You know, for old times sake. I knew how long it used to take to do his hair, but I hadn't considered that it's in a different style now, and he doesn't need to take time to perfect his Mackenzie Falls uniform either. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, he was dressed, ready, and twiddling on his phone. "Took you long enough," he muttered.

Miraculously, the room looked pretty much spotless. It was hard to believe that a little over 24 hours ago, it was completely trashed by Hollywood's most famous and most infamous young adults.

"Perfection takes time." I joked, using what had to be one of his most-used phrases that I could remember. Every time I would tease him about taking too long to get ready, he'd use that excuse. I think I used to find it kind of charming.

Chad gave me a small smile in recognition with a hint of nostalgia behind his pure white teeth.

"Ready to go?" he asked, standing up. I nodded and re-secured my already secure purse on my shoulder.

"You don't look awful today, just by the way." he said. I think it was a complement.

"Thanks," I said with a hint of question behind it.

My outfit today was simple. Nothing special at all. Dark gray sweatpants that stopped at the top of my ankles, a million multi-colored bracelets reaching my elbow that might be mistaken as trendy, and a muddy green t-shirt that read, "CEREAL KILLER". Of course, it showed an animated box of Cap'n Crunch with an angry looking fork stabbing at it. It was a gift from my mother.

And then, we were heading out. He opened the door for me in a very gentlemanly manner, and I stepped out, feeling the warm sun caress my pale skin. He walked out as well, closing the door.

Just then, a head of one of someone from the cleaning service popped out. "Mr. Cooper," she said urgently, getting his attention. She had a strong accent, but I couldn't figure out where from. "Before you leave, I just wanted to let you know that all of the mess is cleaned, except for some stains in the bathroom."

Chad made a face. "Ew, what kind of stains?"

She shook her head fervently, her black hair dancing. "Not that kind. Blood." she clarified.

Chad, not knowing what to think, scratched the back of his head nervously.

Unlike Chad, I _did _know what to think, and it wasn't good. I was thinking it so hard that I was about to cry.

"Um, which bathroom?" I asked, praying it was a different one than the one I had in mind.

"The one nearest to the living room." she said. I felt my my heart plummet into my stomach and twist, upsetting it all over again. I cursed to myself. That was my favorite bathroom. I stained my favorite bathroom. Chad was going to figure out how it happened. Bye bye light-hearted Cooper, hello dead Munroe.

"Would you like to see what I mean?" the lady asked. Chad nodded and went back inside.

I stood on the porch for a few more seconds, taking in as much fresh air as I could. I heard the birds chirping playfully and saw them zooming by happily. It was impossible for something so bad to happen on such a lovely day, right?

Sighing in defeat, I walked back into the house, dreading what was to come.


	27. another apologetic author's note

**Ahh, I haven't even began writing the next chapter, and I haven't updated for three weeks! And you know what that means.**

**It's time for…excuses!**

**I'm sorry! I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging for as long as I did, but I've got a lot going on right now. Plus, it didn't help that I've been spending the majority ofmy spare time actually reading instead of writing. And besides that, weirdly enough, I have a life now.**

***Super surprised face inserted here***

**It's the last few weeks of school, so I'm gonna start writing the next chapter as soon as I get out (June 12). Actually, I'm gonna try and write two chapters. Keyword, try. (:**

**Which sucks, because I was hoping to be done with this story before summer, but oh well.**

**Sorry again for the wait!**

**Please don't throw the bimbos from Chad's party at me. Their newly designed, sharp body parts will injure me in horrible, horrible ways.**

**See you in a month =]**


	28. don't blame me, blame leslie the laptop

You guys are seriously about to hate me.

I know I said I would update on the twelfth, but yet again, Leslie decided to crash. Not only did she crash, but she decided to also develop amnesia. I lost all of my files, including the half-written next chapter. I can't remember how it started, and I've tried again and again to rewrite it, but it's just not working.

Also, my nieces and sister in law are moving in with me, and I have to help them, which means I won't have much computer time for the next week or two.

And _then,_ I'm going to be in theatre camp all summer with karate in the evenings, so I especially won't be on long enough to write this.

I might start another, easier to write story (like a oneshot) if I do have time, but I honestly don't see me updating this story until summer is over.

So, this is officially on **hiatus.**

I'm _really_ sorry =[

**PS: OMG DID YOU SEE FALLING FOR THE FALLS? OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I DIED. cough. My favorite part was when Chad came to apologize to Sonny and the So Random peeps came in and Sonny lied. He looked so…confused? Hurt? Gah. Finally. Disney better not mess up their relationship, or I'll sue.**


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